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World Oceans Day

8 Jun 2016

Healthy oceans are critical to sustaining life on Earth. They regulate the climate and provide a wide range of services, including natural resources, nutritious food and jobs that benefit billions of people. In order to protect the health of our oceans, it is crucial for us to know their current state, and understand the impact that human activities and climate change are having on them. This past December, the General Assembly welcomed the First Global Integrated Marine Assessment, a truly global scientific evaluation of the state of the world’s oceans. We now know that although the oce…

World Environment Day

3 Jun 2016

This year’s observance of World Environment Day shines a much-needed spotlight on the illegal trade in wildlife. There is grave cause for alarm. Elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory, rhinos for their horns, and pangolins for their scales. From sea turtles to tigers to rosewood, thousands of species of wild animals and plants are being driven ever closer to extinction. The businesses and individuals involved are motivated solely by short-term gain at the expense of long-term benefit to communities and habitats. In many instances, they act in collusion wi…

Progressive structural change with a 2030 horizon

26 May 2016

The world today is undergoing a change of era. The unprecedented rise in global inequality, the increasingly severe effects of climate change and the ambivalent role played by the technological revolution, which multiplies capacities and threatens employment, are signs revealing that the reigning development pattern has grown unsustainable. These imbalances have mobilized the international community, which has laid out a road map to 2030, an Agenda for Sustainable Development that clearly reflects the broad and urgent nature of these global challenges and that has put fighting inequality at it…

Time to put sustainable development into practice

10 May 2016

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in New York and the Paris Agreement on climate change, 2015 has seen great progress in multilateral cooperation on sustainable development. These successes have been reached in spite of a geopolitical context darkened by distrust between powers, weaknesses in other fields of cooperation like trade negotiations, overt or smouldering conflicts in many regions, the migrant crisis and terrorism. This is only a paradox in appearance: after the financial and economic crisis began in 2008, the return to pre-crisis growth remains uncertain. In thi…

International Mother Earth Day

22 Apr 2016

International Mother Earth Day is an opportunity to highlight the interdependence between people and the astonishing variety of species with which we share this planet. This year’s observance brings hope of a better future for all. On this day, representatives of more than 170 countries are gathering at UN Headquarters in New York to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This landmark pact, in conjunction with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, holds the power to transform our world. The momentum achieved by so many signatures on one day sends a clear signal of solidarity…

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

24 Mar 2016

Each year on this day, the United Nations honours the memory of millions of Africans forcibly removed from their families and homelands over hundreds of years. The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade also shines a spotlight on prevailing racism and prejudice today. It is imperative that we work together for equal opportunity, justice and sustainable development for people of African descent. That is why the United Nations Remember Slavery Programme is reaching out to young and old alike to create awareness, promote understanding an…

International Women’s Day 2016

8 Mar 2016

“From the glass ceiling to a carpet of shards” As a boy growing up in post-war Korea, I remember asking about a tradition I observed: women going into labour would leave their shoes at the threshold and then look back in fear. “They are wondering if they will ever step into those shoes again,” my mother explained. More than a half-century later, the memory continues to haunt me. In poor parts of the world today, women still risk death in the process of giving life. Maternal mortality is one of many preventable perils. All too often, female babies are subjected to genital mutilation. Girls are …

World Day of Social Justice

20 Feb 2016

The World Day of Social Justice highlights the imperative of building a future of dignity for all. Guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the international community has pledged to end poverty by 2030 through effective integrated social, economic and environmental policies. These landmark blueprints for a better world provide invaluable tools and a powerful vision to meet the needs of today’s generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Social justice must be at the…

Latin America is the world's most unequal region. Here's how to fix it

25 Jan 2016

Global leaders will meet at the World Economic Forum on 20-23 January to discuss how to improve the state of the world and address its most pressing challenges. There is much to talk about —not least the global inequality crisis, which has come to the fore in recent years in the wake of the economic and financial crisis of 2008-2009. Inequality is growing at an alarming pace and poses a serious risk to economic growth, the fight against poverty and social stability. For evidence of the destructive impact that extreme inequality has on sustainable patterns of growth and social …

International Migrants Day

18 Dec 2015

2015 will be remembered as a year of human suffering and migrant tragedies. Over the past 12 months, more than 5,000 women, men and children lost their lives in search of protection and a better life. Tens of thousands more have been exploited and abused by human traffickers. And millions have been made into scapegoats and become the targets of xenophobic policies and alarmist rhetoric. But 2015 was also a year in which the global community underscored the important contribution of migrants to sustainable development. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Devel…

The Climate Agreement in Paris: Betting on Collective Action

15 Dec 2015

At the 21 Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which takes place in Paris from November 30 to December 11, the governments of the world face the challenge of reaching an agreement to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius by the year 2100 above the pre-industrial level. To achieve this aim, the COP21 introduces a different model compared to the Kyoto protocol (2005-2012), which was based on an interpretation of common but differentiated responsibilities. Today the new model emphasizes common responsibilities and softens t…

Human Rights Day

10 Dec 2015

Amid large-scale atrocities and widespread abuses across the world, Human Rights Day should rally more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles that we have collectively pledged to uphold. In a year that marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, we can draw inspiration from the history of the modern human rights movement, which emerged from the Second World War. At that time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States identified four basic freedoms as the birthright of all people: freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from …

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

3 Dec 2015

We mark this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the wake of the adoption of the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This global blueprint for action summons us to “leave no one behind”. Building a sustainable, inclusive world for all requires the full engagement of people of all abilities. The 2030 Agenda includes many issues of concern to persons with disabilities and we must work together to transform these commitments into action. Earlier this year, the United Nations Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction recognised the key role p…

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

30 Nov 2015

This year’s observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People falls at a time when security and hope are at a low point. A wave of violence has included heinous attacks, stabbings, shootings and vehicular attacks causing immense suffering among Israeli and Palestinian families alike. I condemn such attacks and all acts of violence. Illegal settlement activities and settler-related violence have continued, along with punitive demolitions of Palestinian-owned homes and structures. The tensions related to the Holy Sites in the Old City of Jerusalem ha…

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

25 Nov 2015

The atrocity crimes being committed against women and girls in conflict zones, along with the domestic abuse found in all countries, are grave threats to progress. I am deeply concerned about the plight of women and girls living in conditions of armed conflict, who suffer various forms of violence, sexual assault, sexual slavery and trafficking. Violent extremists are perverting religious teachings to justify the mass subjugation and abuse of women. These are not random acts of violence, or the incidental fallout of war, but rather systematic efforts to deny women’s freedoms and control their …

United Nations Day

24 Oct 2015

National flags are a mark of pride and patriotism in every country around the world. But there is only one flag that belongs to all of us. That blue flag of the United Nations was a banner of hope for me growing up in wartime Korea. Seven decades after its founding, the United Nations remains a beacon for all humanity. Every day, the United Nations feeds the hungry and shelters those driven from their homes. The United Nations vaccinates children who would otherwise die from preventable diseases. The United Nations defends human rights for all, regardless of race, religion, n…

World Statistics Day

20 Oct 2015 | Statement

Good data and statistics are indispensable for informed decision-making by all actors in society. This was explicitly acknowledged in 2014, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics to promote citizen’s entitlement to public information. As countries and organizations embark on implementing the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, reliable and timely statistics and indicators are more important than ever. For that reason, World Statistics Day this year is being observed under the theme “Better data, better lives.” We …

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

17 Oct 2015

This year’s observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty falls as the world embarks on a bold new path towards a future of dignity for all guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This year’s theme -- “Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination” -- highlights the need to focus greater attention on the excluded and marginalized members of the human family. Spurred on by the global mobilization behind the Millennium Development Goals, the world has made extraordinary progress in reducing extreme poverty. Over the past 25 y…

International Day of the Girl Child

9 Oct 2015

The newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals rightly include key targets for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They offer an opportunity for a global commitment to breaking intergenerational transmission of poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination – and realizing our vision of a life of dignity for all. Our task now is to get to work on meeting the SDG targets and making good on our promises to give girls all the opportunities they deserve as they mature to adulthood by 2030. That means enabling them to avoid child marriage and unwanted pregnancy, protect ag…

International Day of Older Persons

1 Oct 2015

On the 25th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons, we recognize that older persons are an enormous asset to society and make a significant contribution to global development. On September 25 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Heads of State and governments committed themselves to building a sustainable world where no one, regardless of their age or gender, is left behind. In implementing the newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must account for the demographic changes of the next 15 years. These will have a direct bearing on the achievement of the …

256 search results. Displaying 20 per page.