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United Nations Day

24 October 2011

Days from now, the human family will welcome its seven billionth member. Some say our planet is too crowded. I say we are seven billion strong. The world has made remarkable progress since the United Nations was born 66 years ago today. We are living longer. More of our children survive. More and more of us live at peace, under democratic rule of law. As we have seen in this dramatic year, people everywhere are standing up for their rights and human freedoms. And yet ... all this progress is under threat. From economic crisis. Rising joblessness and inequality. Climate change. A…

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

17 October 2011

For decades the United Nations has worked to free people from poverty. We have made great progress - but today those gains are in doubt. Too many people are living in fear: Fear of losing their jobs; Fear of not being able to feed their families; Fear of being trapped forever in poverty, deprived of the human right to live with health and dignity and hope for the future. We can meet the challenges we face - the economic crisis, climate change, rising costs of food and energy, the effects of natural disasters. We can overcome them by putting people at the centre of our work. Too often…

International Disaster Risk Reduction Day

13 October 2011

Each time disaster strikes, nature is often blamed. Rarely do we think about human actions that increase risk and turn danger into catastrophe. Vulnerability to disaster is growing faster than resilience. Over the past year, we have seen devastating floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts. Nuclear safety and the threat of multiple technological hazards add even greater urgency. The good news is that some countries have shown how to reduce risk from floods and cyclones. Investments in early warning and other measures are paying dividends. Yet the economic burden of technol…

World Habitat Day

3 October 2011

This year, World Habitat Day falls during the month when demographers predict our planet's seven billionth inhabitant will be born. The future that this child and its generation will inherit depends to a great degree on how we handle the competing pressures of growing population growth, urbanization and climate change. Experts predict that by the year 2050, global population will have increased by 50 per cent from what it was in 1999. Also by that time, scientists say, global greenhouse gas emissions must decrease by 50 per cent compared to levels at the turn of the millennium.&nb…

International Day of Peace

21 September 2011

Every year on the International Day of Peace, people around the world commit to non-violence... and to harmony among all peoples and nations. Peace is our mission; our day-to-day quest. This year's theme focuses on the timely issue of peace and democracy. Democracy is a core value of the United Nations. It is crucial for human rights. It provides channels for resolving differences. It gives hope to the marginalized... and power to the people. But democracy does not just happen; it has to be nurtured... and defended. The world needs you to speak out... For social justice and freedom of the …

World Humanitarian Day

19 August 2011

There is never a year without humanitarian crises. And wherever there are people in need, there are people who help them - men and women coming together to ease suffering and bring hope. From Japan to Sudan, from Pakistan to the Horn of Africa, aid workers help people who have lost their homes, loved ones and sources of income. These humanitarians often brave great danger, far from home. They work long hours, in the most difficult conditions. Their efforts save lives in conflict and natural disaster. They also draw the world closer together by reminding us that we…

International Youth Day

12 August 2011

"Change Our World" is more than the theme of this year's International Youth Day; it is an injunction that should inspire young people at all times. Far too many of the world's more than one billion young people lack the education, freedom and opportunities they deserve. Yet despite these constraints - and in some cases because of them - young people are mobilizing in growing numbers to build a better future. Over the past year, they have achieved stunning results, overturning dictatorships and sending waves of hope across regions and around the world. Young people are gifted wit…

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

9 August 2011

On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we reaffirm the rights of indigenous peoples and our shared commitment to advance the values of equity, justice and dignity for all. Indigenous peoples represent remarkable diversity -- 5,000 distinct groups in some 90 countries. They make up more than 5 per cent of the world's population, some 370 million people. Together, they are custodians of a valuable and often fast-disappearing cultural heritage. We see their creativity and innovations in the arts, literature and the sciences. These contributions …

World Population Day

11 July 2011

This year's World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the earth's seven billionth inhabitant. This is an opportunity to celebrate our common humanity and our diversity. It is also a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for each other and our planet. Reaching a global population of seven billion is a numerical landmark, but our focus should always be on people. That is why I am pleased that the United Nations Population Fund is giving meaning to the number by launching its campaign for "7 Billion Actions" to contribute to a be…

Stepping up the quality of Chinese-Latin American relations

30 June 2011

The visit that the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, will carry out to several Latin American nations in the next few days provides an opportunity to focus the regional debate on the urgent need to rethink the strategic link between Latin America and the Asian giant. It is time to step up the quality of this relationship. We must diversify exports to China, incorporate more value and knowledge into them, boost business, trade and technological partnerships, attract more and better Chinese investment and promote Latin American investment in China and Asia-Pacif…

World Day to Combat Desertification

17 June 2011

The people who live in the arid lands, which occupy more than 40 per cent of our planet's land area, are among the world's poorest and most vulnerable to hunger. Frequently, they depend on land that is degraded and where productivity has shrunk to below subsistence levels. In the world's efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals, the challenges facing these "forgotten billion" men, women and children deserve special attention. This year's observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification falls during the 2011 International Year of Forests, declared by the United Nations …

Latin America and the Caribbean on the Road to Rio+20

14 June 2011

Both globally and regionally, the Rio+20 Conference comes at a time that differs radically from that of 1972, when the concept of sustainable development was coined. Globally, the world is confronting multiple crises: economic and financial, food security and climate change. The three are urgently calling for a new development paradigm, one that moves the world towards a "new deal." At the regional level, in 1972 environment was barely on the public agenda and in 1992 the region was stepping out of a "lost decade" of weak growth, high inflation, negative transfers and no political space …

World Environment Day

3 June 2011

Nearly 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the world is once again on the road to Rio - the site of the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Much has changed in the past two decades, geopolitically and environmentally. Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Latin America - and, increasingly, in Africa - have risen from poverty. Yet, evidence is also accumulating of profound and potentially irreversible changes in the ability of the planet to sustain our progress. Rapid economic growth has come with costs that traditionally rarely feature in national a…

International Day for Biodiversity

20 May 2011

Watch video "International Year of Forests 2011" This year's observance of the International Day for Biodiversity falls during the 2011 International Year of Forests, declared by the United Nations General Assembly to educate the global community about the value of forests and the extreme social, economic and environmental costs of losing them. The benefits of forests are far-reaching. Forests catch and store water, stabilize soils, harbour biodiversity and make an important contribution to regulating climate and the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. Th…

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

17 May 2011

Information and communication technologies have transformed the global landscape. They power the world economy and have become the great enablers of modern society, helping people communicate across distances and cultural divides, facilitating trade and commerce, and providing access to critical resources such as healthcare and education. Recent events around the world, in particular in North Africa and the Middle East, have also highlighted the catalytic role that mobile phones and social media can play in galvanizing public opinion against repression. And in the aftermath of natural di…

World Malaria Day

25 April 2011

On World Malaria Day this year, there is much to celebrate. Strategic global investments in malaria control continue to produce results. Since 2008, more than 600 million Africans have been spared terrible suffering thanks to the distribution of more than 300 million long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets. In 2009, 75 million people also benefited from indoor residual spraying with safe and effective insecticides. Together with improved testing and treatment, these measures have saved nearly 750,000 lives over the past decade. Yet an estimated 781,000 people a y…

World Health Day

7 April 2011

"Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow" The discovery of antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines has been responsible for some of the most dramatic advances in human health. Before these drugs were introduced in the 1940s, infectious diseases took the lives of tens of millions of people each year. These medicines helped drive down the infectious disease burden. Initial gains were primarily in higher-income countries and among wealthier populations in poor countries. But over the past two decades, new public health strategies and financing m…

International Day for the Right to the Truth of Victims of Gross Human Rights Violations

24 March 2011

Thirty-one years ago on this date, Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero, an active promoter and defender of human rights in El Salvador, was murdered while conducting a service at church. The intent was clear: to silence an ardent opponent of repression. Today, the first International Day for the Right to the Truth of Victims of Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, we pay tribute to Monsignor Romero's work and to that of all human rights defenders around the world. Victims of gross human rights violations and their families are entitled to know the truth about the circ…

World Water Day

22 March 2011

As the world charts a more sustainable future, the crucial interplay among water, food and energy is one of the most formidable challenges we face. Without water there is no dignity and no escape from poverty. Yet the Millennium Development Goal target for water and sanitation is among those on which many countries lag the most. In little over a generation, 60 per cent of the global population will be living in towns and cities, with much of the increase taking place in the inner city slums and squatter settlements of the developing world. The theme of this year's observance …

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

21 March 2011

Watch video Every year, the world commemorates the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpville massacre, which saw dozens of peaceful demonstrators shot by police in apartheid South Africa merely for protesting racially discriminatory laws. This year, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is devoted to combating discrimination faced by people of African descent. This focus reflects the UN General Assembly's proclamation of 2011 as the International Year for People of African descent. The discrimination faced by people of African descent is pernicious. Oft…

256 search results. Displaying 20 per page.