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World Water Day

22 Mar 2015

This year, as the UN prepares to adopt a new post-2015 sustainable development agenda in September, World Water Day highlights the essential and interconnected role of water. We rely on water for public health and equitable progress, it is essential for food and energy security, and it underpins the functioning of industries. The onset of climate change, growing demand on finite water resources from agriculture, industry and cities, and increasing pollution in many areas are hastening a water crisis that can only be addressed by cross-sectoral, holistic planning and policies – internatio…

International Day of Forests

21 Mar 2015

The International Day of Forests is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of all types of forests and trees outside forests. Some 1.6 billion people -- including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures -- depend on forests for food, fuel, shelter and income. Three quarters of freshwater comes from forested catchments. Forests prevent landslides and erosion and – in the case of mangrove forests -- reduce loss of life and damage caused by tsunamis. For these reasons, and more, forests are integral to the post-2015 development agenda. Among their most important func…

International Day of Happiness

20 Mar 2015

I wish everyone around the world a very happy International Day of Happiness! The pursuit of happiness is serious business. Happiness for the entire human family is one of the main goals of the United Nations. Peace, prosperity, lives of dignity for all – this is what we seek. We want all men, women and children to enjoy all their human rights. We want all countries to know the pleasure of peace. We want people and planet alike to be blessed with sustainable development, and to be spared the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Let us give thanks for what makes us happy. And let us de…

International Women’s Day 2015

6 Mar 2015 | Statement

Twenty years ago, when the world convened a landmark conference on women’s human rights, the devastating conflict in the former Yugoslavia prompted deserved attention to rape and other war crimes there against civilians. Two decades later, with girls as young as seven not only targeted but used as weapons by violent extremists, it would be easy to lose heart about the value of international gatherings. But while we have a long way to go to achieve full equality – with ending gender-based violence a central goal – progress over the past two decades has proven the enduring value of the 1995 Beij…

World Day for Social Justice

20 Feb 2015 | Statement

World Day for Social Justice comes at a pivotal moment for people and our planet. Around the world, there is a rising call to secure a life of dignity for all with equal rights and respect for the diverse voices of the world’s peoples. At the core of this movement lies the need for social justice. This year’s commemoration focuses on the scourge of human trafficking and the plight of approximately 21 million women, men and children in various forms of modern slavery. New instruments such as the ILO Protocol and Recommendation on forced labour and human trafficking are he…

World Radio Day

13 Feb 2015

On World Radio Day, we celebrate a medium that captures the imagination and brings people together. Every year, United Nations Radio broadcasts over 1,200 documentaries, news items and editorials over the airwaves. This year’s observance of World Radio Day highlights the importance of radio to the world’s 1.8 billion young women and men. Radio matters for youth across the world. As the international community shapes new sustainable development goals and a new global agreement on climate change, we need to hear the voices young women and men, loudly, strongly and urgently.&nb…

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust 2015

27 Jan 2015 | Statement

Seventy years ago today, allied forces liberated Auschwitz Birkenau, the German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp. More than a million inmates, primarily Jews, were brutally and systematically killed in the place where the Nazis introduced the monstrous concept of “industrialized murder”. Among the other victims were non-Jewish Poles, political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, disabled persons and Jehovah’s witnesses. Unprecedented in human history, this mass killing was motivated by the perverse, race-based ideology of the Nazis, who sought to track dow…

A Historic Day

30 Dec 2014

We have witnessed with enormous optimism the unveiling of good tidings. Signals that we had hoped to see for so long, gestures that reveal a shared will to use regional integration—through dialogue, collaboration and mutual respect—as the basis for a new relationship between Cuba and the United States, which is formally bilateral but impacts our entire region. At the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) we value this historic step as a welcome shift after more than half a century of ruptured diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States of America. This ann…

International Migrants Day 2014

18 Dec 2014

On International Migrants Day, we call for the fulfilment and protection of the human rights of the world’s 232 million migrants. Far too many migrants live and work in precarious and unjust conditions. Many risk their lives at sea, attempting to seek sanctuary. They and their children are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Many are deprived of their liberty, rather than met with empathy and necessary protection. Persistent discrimination against migrants generates sharp inequalities, threatens the social fabric and, all too often, leads to violent and deadly attacks. …

Human Rights Day 2014

10 Dec 2014

On Human Rights Day we speak out. We denounce authorities who deny the rights of any person or group. We declare that human rights are for all of us, all the time: whoever we are and wherever we are from; no matter our class, our opinions, our sexual orientation. This is a matter of individual justice, social stability and global progress. The United Nations protects human rights because that is our proud mission – and because when people enjoy their rights, economies flourish and countries are at peace. Violations of human rights are more than personal tragedies. They are alarm bells th…

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2014

3 Dec 2014

This year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities focuses on the theme, “sustainable development: the promise of technology”. Technology has changed the world, bringing knowledge within reach and expanding a range of opportunities. Persons with disabilities can benefit enormously from such advances, yet too many lack access to these essential tools. As the international community works to develop an ambitious and inspiring post-2015 development agenda that leaves no-one behind, we must harness the power of technology for development for all. Through adaptive, assisti…

Latin America, between the Culture of Equality and Privilege

2 Dec 2014

With the global crisis, the region's governments had the choice of adopting the recipes recommended by neoliberalism or of following a path that would not transfer its costs to the most vulnerable segments of the population. They correctly chose to take countercyclical, Keynesian measures and keep their economies growing. In the first decades of the 21st century, Latin America seems to be opting for a path that acknowledges that its history of systematic exclusion undermines the social fabric and stunts democracy in a permanent way. Qualitative research reveals that the population feels t…

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2014

25 Nov 2014

Sexual and gender-based violence is the most extreme form of the global and systemic inequality experienced by women and girls. It knows no geographic, socio-economic or cultural boundaries. Worldwide, one in three women will suffer physical or sexual violence at some point in her life, from rape and domestic violence to harassment at work and bullying on the internet. This year alone, more than 200 girls have been kidnapped in Nigeria; we have seen graphic testimony from Iraqi women of rape and sexual slavery during conflict; two Indian schoolgirls were raped, killed and hung from a tree; and…

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2014

17 Oct 2014

On this day we recommit to think, decide and act together against extreme poverty -- and plan for a world where no-one is left behind. We have reached the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people living in poverty ahead of time. At least 700 million people were lifted out of extreme poverty between 1990 and 2010. Despite this enormous success, one in every five persons in developing regions -- 1.22 billion people -- live on less than $1.25 a day, and 2.4 billion live on less than $2 a day. Since the beginning of the financial crisis, inequality has grown eve…

International Day for Disaster Reduction 2014

13 Oct 2014

As a human family, we are growing older. Globally, approximately 700 million people - 10 per cent of the world's population - are over the age of 60, and by 2030, there will be more elderly persons than children for the first time in history. This year's commemoration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction is an opportunity to recognize the role of older men and women in fostering resilience. When a natural disaster hits, older persons suffer disproportionately high levels of death and injuries. This tragic trend must be reversed through plans, services and support that ensure we addr…

Explosion of Social Innovations in Latin America and the Caribbean

1 Sep 2014

ECLAC, through its Social Development Division, has been working for the last decade in the field of social innovation thanks to a contest, implemented with the Kellogg Foundation, which gives visibility to creative experiences originating in Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, we have gotten to know about 4,800 initiatives that promote participation by communities, which contribute to strengthening citizenship and democracy and can be replicated both in their countries of origin and elsewhere in the region. These are creative models, with significant and cost-efficient impacts. Tha…

World Humanitarian Day 2014

19 Aug 2014

Watch video on World Humanitarian Day On World Humanitarian Day, we renew our commitment to life-saving relief efforts -- and we remember all those who died serving this noble cause. Last year, more humanitarian workers were kidnapped, seriously injured or killed than ever before. This is an outrage. In recent weeks, dozens of humanitarians -- including members of the UN family -- have lost their lives in South Sudan and Gaza. Too many people have died or suffered from deliberate attacks. Humanitarian workers and their families are hit hardest by these crimes. But they are also felt…

International Youth Day 2014

12 Aug 2014

A new publication from the United Nations shows that 20 per cent of the world's young people experience a mental health condition each year. The risks are especially great as they transition from childhood to adulthood. Stigma and shame often compound the problem, preventing them from seeking the support they need. For this year's observance of International Youth Day, the United Nations wants to help lift the veil that keeps young people locked in a chamber of isolation and silence. The barriers can be overwhelming, particularly in countries where the issue of mental healt…

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2014

9 Aug 2014

This year's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples comes at a critical moment as the world endeavours to meet the Millennium Development Goals, forge a new vision for sustainable development and prepare the groundwork for the adoption of a new legal climate agreement - all by 2015. Indigenous peoples have a central interest in these objectives - and can act as powerful agents of progress. In order for them to contribute to our common future, we must secure their rights. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples establishes minimum standards for their surviva…

Reinforcing Complementarity in the Social Agenda of Latin America and the Caribbean

2 Jun 2014

In one of the most important resolutions approved during ECLAC's Thirty-fifth session, held recently in Lima, Peru, the governments of the region's countries supported the creation of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will become a new subsidiary body of this regional United Nations commission. It is no coincidence that countries in the region signed an agreement to establish this conference at this historical turning point. It confirms that social matters have gained protagonism and centrality in both national and regional agendas, an…

258 search results. Displaying 20 per page.