Kuala Lumpur, 17 September 2024 – The Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund announces the launch of its second Call for Proposals (CFP-2024/25), for a total amount up to USD 4 million (approximately MYR 17.2 million). This initiative will provide grants ranging from USD 100,000 to USD 500,000 for projects that would contribute to accelerating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) progress in Malaysia with a focus on supporting groups and communities at risk of being left behind.CFP-2024/25 invites proposals from Malaysian civil society organizations, non-governmental and non-profit entities such as academic institutions, and UN agencies. Eligible projects should have an implementation timeframe of 6 to 18 months.Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, the Chairman of Yayasan MySDG’s Board of Trustees, said, “The Malaysia-UN SDG Trust Fund is a collaborative effort between the United Nations in Malaysia and Yayasan MySDG set up by the Malaysian Government to advance SDGs in Malaysia with a particular emphasis on reaching communities who are at risk of being left behind. The Fund recognizes the potential for scaling impact through collaboration with multiple donors in driving sustainable development throughout Malaysia. With this second call for proposals, we reiterate our commitment to empowering local organizations and communities to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, ensuring a lasting positive impact for everyone living in Malaysia. We welcome other potential partners to join us in amplifying this impact.”Karima El Korri, UN Resident Coordinator in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam, stated, “In our inaugural 2023 Call for Proposals, we funded 14 impactful projects with a total of USD 3.4 million. These initiatives are currently addressing SDG challenges including healthcare for vulnerable populations, job placement for persons with disabilities, skills development for women and underserved communities, and local action for environmental sustainability. We are confident that this year’s proposals will also be solution-oriented, cover different areas across Malaysia and contribute toward achieving inclusive sustainable development.”The CFP-2024/25 was announced during the Malaysia SDG Summit 2024, which is currently taking place at the KL Convention Centre from 17 to 18 September 2024. The call for proposals will close on 4 November 2024.For more information visit the Call for Proposal page here 

Final negotiations are underway in New York for this month’s Summit of the Future, where Heads of State will agree on reforms to the building blocks of global cooperation. The United Nations has convened this unique Summit because of a stark fact: global problems are moving faster than the institutions designed to solve them. We see this all around us. Ferocious conflicts and violence are inflicting terrible suffering; geopolitical divisions are rife; inequality and injustice are everywhere, corroding trust, compounding grievances, and feeding populism and extremism. The age-old challenges of poverty, hunger, discrimination, misogyny and racism are taking on new forms. Meanwhile, we face new and existential threats, from runaway climate chaos and environmental degradation to technologies like Artificial Intelligence developing in an ethical and legal vacuum. The Summit of the Future recognizes that the solutions to all these challenges are in our hands. But we need a systems update that only global leaders can deliver.International decision-making is stuck in a time warp. Many global institutions and tools are a product of the 1940s – an era before globalization, before decolonization, before widespread recognition of universal human rights and gender equality, before humanity travelled into space – never mind cyberspace. The victors of World War II still have pre-eminence in the UN Security Council while the entire continent of Africa lacks a permanent seat.  The global financial architecture is heavily weighted against developing countries and fails to provide a safety net when they face difficulties, leaving them drowning in debt, which drains money away from investments in their people.  And global institutions offer limited space for many of the major players in today’s world – from civil society to the private sector. Young people who will inherit the future are almost invisible, while the interests of future generations go unrepresented. The message is clear: we cannot create a future fit for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents. The Summit of the Future will be an opportunity to re-boot multilateral collaboration fit for the 21st century. The solutions we have proposed include a New Agenda for Peace focused on updating international institutions and tools to prevent and end conflicts, including the UN Security Council. The New Agenda for Peace calls for a renewed push to rid our world of nuclear arms and other Weapons of Mass Destruction; and for broadening the definition of security to encompass gender-based violence and gang violence. It takes future security threats into account, recognizing the changing nature of warfare and the risks of weaponizing new technologies. For example, we need a global agreement to outlaw so-called Lethal Autonomous Weapons that can take life-or-death decisions without human input. Global financial institutions must reflect today’s world and be equipped to lead a more powerful response to today’s challenges – debt, sustainable development, climate action.  That means concrete steps to tackle debt distress, increase the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, and change their business model so that developing countries have far more access to private finance at affordable rates. Without that finance, developing countries will not be able to tackle our greatest future threat: the climate crisis. They urgently need resources to transition from planet-wrecking fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. And as leaders highlighted last year, reforming the global financial architecture is also key to jump-starting desperately needed progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit will also focus on new technologies with a global impact, seeking ways to close the digital divide and establish shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all. Artificial Intelligence is a revolutionary technology with applications and risks we are only beginning to understand.We have put forward specific proposals for governments, together with tech companies, academia and civil society, to work on risk management frameworks for AI and on monitoring and mitigating its harms, as well as sharing its benefits. The governance of AI cannot be left to the rich; it requires that all countries participate, and the UN is ready to provide a platform to bring people together.Human rights and gender equality are a common thread linking all these proposals. Global decision-making cannot be reformed without respect for all human rights and for cultural diversity, ensuring the full participation and leadership of women and girls. We are demanding renewed efforts to remove the historic barriers – legal, social and economic – that exclude women from power. The peacebuilders of the 1940s created institutions that helped prevent World War III and ushered many countries from colonization to independence. But they would not recognize today’s global landscape. The Summit of the Future is a chance to build more effective and inclusive institutions and tools for global cooperation, tuned to the 21st century and our multipolar world.  I urge leaders to seize it. 

Visit the YPP page hereThe UN Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative for talented, highly qualified professionals to start a career as an international civil servant with the UN Secretariat. It consists of an entrance examination process and professional development once those who are successful start their career with the UN.The YPP examination is held once a year in different subject areas, depending on the needs of the UN. YPP is open to nationals of participating countries. The list of participating countries varies from year to year. The application period typically opens in June each year. Those interested can apply via Inspira. 

In December 2023, Benjamin and his wife were excited about their promising future. They gave up their rented house in the Klang Valley in Malaysia, eagerly anticipating lucrative new jobs at a casino in Cambodia. These opportunities came through a friend of Benjamin’s wife, a Filipino with experience working in casinos.  Benjamin, a well-educated former consultant with expertise in software security and blockchain development, has extensive experience working with the Cambodian government. Thus, he was confident that his next career move would be seamless. However, little did Benjamin and his wife know that their lives would take a harrowing turn upon arriving in Phnom Penh. They were unexpectedly trapped by human traffickers and forced to work as scammers. “The person who offered us the jobs appeared pleasant and friendly during the phone interviews, answering all our questions and concerns with ease. Even from online research, the company that we were supposed to work for seemed legitimate, with a proper website and a registration number, so we really believed we were in good hands,” remarks Benjamin.After passing the immigration checks, a local Cambodian man drove them to their accommodation. Too exhausted from their flight and the late hour, Benjamin and his wife did not question the journey. Nearly four hours later, they turned up in a town surrounded by casinos and night entertainment outlets. The driver told them they will be staying in one of the quarters behind the casinos. “It was a massive, gated compound, almost the size of Subang district. The barbed wire fences and security cameras made it look like a prison,” recalls Benjamin.  Despite the austere exterior, the compound housed various multi-story buildings, including shops, casinos, karaoke centres, nightclubs, restaurants and bungalows. It appeared to be a regular precinct, but no one could imagine the nightmare experienced by those inside, including Benjamin and his wife. Something felt off when the couple reached the compound early in the morning, approached by several men who then took their passports. One of the men claimed they needed the passports for employment paperwork.  However, he eventually admitted his lie to Benjamin: “Sorry, but we lied to you. Your jobs never exist, but we do have something we need you to do.”  For several days to come, Benjamin and his wife were taken to different floors to observe workers making phone calls to people around the world, pretending to be customer service representatives asking for their bank details. The couple tried to remain calm and delayed participating in the scam. The traffickers’ initial friendliness soon turned to aggression. Infuriated by Benjamin and his wife’s unwillingness to cooperate, they confined them in separate rooms a week after their arrival in the compound. Chained to the floor, the couple’s movements were limited inside tightly spaced cells, with soundproof walls and no proper ventilation.   “Traffickers often start with politeness as part of their manipulative tactics to lure victims into the scamming industry”, explains Benjamin.  It is no surprise that many victims, especially those in financial desperation, continue to fall into the traps to this day, not realising what they get themselves into until it is too late.  For weeks, Benjamin and his wife endured mental and physical abuse from the traffickers for refusing to perform scamming work. They received food and water only once in every few days and in little quantity, just enough to keep them alive. The traffickers also threatened to kill them and sell their organs. Fortunately, the wife managed to contact her family members just in time before the traffickers destroyed their mobile phones, prompting a rescue effort from the police over a month later.  The couple were escorted out of the compound alongside several other victims of different nationalities. The police immediately referred Benjamin and his wife to IOM Cambodia for further assistance, which included free medical treatment at the hospital after having been identified as victims of trafficking. Through the help of IOM Malaysia, Benjamin received some financial aid and a free flight return to Malaysia while his wife went to the Philippines to be with her family. “We are very grateful and impressed by IOM’s efficiency in supporting us. We wouldn’t know what to do with our situation if it was not for IOM,” expresses Benjamin.  Despite their timely rescue, their case highlights the alarming rate of human trafficking incidents reported across South East Asia.  In 2023, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that thousands of individuals were forced into online criminality by organised criminal gangs in the region. The situation was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs found that approximately 90 per cent of Malaysians who have been victims of human trafficking were involved in international fraud syndicates. The high volume of cases calls for improved policies to protect individuals from being trafficked and support survivors of trafficking. In response to this serious issue, IOM continues to collaborate with governments and civil society organisations through policy advocacy and direct victim support.  Currently, Benjamin and his wife are staying in temporary accommodation provided by friends and family. Although they are now safe, the distressing event has left them with emotional and mental scars. In addition to financial loss, with all their money and belongings taken by the traffickers, both Benjamin and his wife are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.  Nonetheless, the difficult moments did not deter them from attempting to start over their lives. Benjamin and his wife are actively seeking work to help them get back on their feet. This time around, they are more conscientious of their next move.“If anyone is looking for a job abroad, my advice is to be very careful when choosing a company and location. Do not fall into the traps of traffickers,” Benjamin concludes.his story was written by Siti Munawirah Mustaffa, IOM Malaysia Communications Assistant, smustaffa@iom.int