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World Population Day

11 July 2012

The world's population has more than tripled since the United Nations was created in 1945, and keeps growing. With more than 7 billion people now inhabiting the planet, we face ever greater demands on shared resources and significant challenges to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals. Multiple crises - food, fuel and financial - have caused significant suffering and served as a wake-up call about the need to pay far more attention to the building blocks of sustainable development. Reproductive health is an indispensable part of the sustainable development equ…

China's leap in Latin America and the Caribbean

9 July 2012

On 26 June, when concluding his tour around Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao chose the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for delivering a speech making five concrete proposals through which China intends to define its future presence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The latter is a transcendental milestone that will certainly have a transforming effect in the structure of our region. First of all, Prime Minister Wen proposed the intensification of strategic cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean …

World Refugee Day

20 June 2012

More than 42 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced from their homes and communities. More than a million fled their countries in the last eighteen months alone due to a wave of conflicts, in Cote d'Ivoire, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Sudan and Syria. These numbers represent far more than statistics; they are individuals and families whose lives have been upended, whose communities have been destroyed, and whose future remains uncertain. World Refugee Day is a moment to remember all those affected, and a time to intensify our support. Four out of five …

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

15 June 2012

The World Health Organization estimates that between 4 and 6 per cent of older persons worldwide have suffered from a form of elder abuse -- physical, emotional, financial. Furthermore, emerging research suggests that abuse, neglect and violence against older persons, both at home and in institutions, are much more prevalent than currently acknowledged. Such abuse is an unacceptable attack on human dignity and human rights. Making matters even worse, cases often remain unreported and unaddressed. Alarmed at this widening problem, the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed …

World Oceans Day

8 June 2012

This year's World Oceans Day falls as the international community marks an important milestone: the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. When the Convention opened for signature on 10 December 1982, it was rightly characterized as a "constitution for the oceans." Forged through a process of negotiation among more than 150 States, the treaty is a living monument to international cooperation. When it was adopted, the Convention on the Law of the Sea made treaty history. With 320 articles and 9 Annexes covering every aspect of the oceans and marine …

World Environment Day

5 June 2012

As the world gears up for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), World Environment Day is an opportunity to highlight the need for a paradigm shift towards a more sustainable world. This year's theme, "Green Economy: Does it include you?", underscores the need for everyone to play their part in keeping humankind's ecological footprint within planetary boundaries. The world's population stands at 7 billion and may rise to more than 9 billion by 2050. This means greater pressure on already crowded cities - where more than half of all people now live - and …

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

29 May 2012

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is an occasion to salute the 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions in some of the world's most volatile and dangerous environments. This Day is also a time to mourn fallen peacekeepers. In 2011, 112 men and women died devoting their lives to peace. In the first four months of this year, another 27 peacekeepers have died while serving the United Nations. Today we honour the memory of the more than 2,900 peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the line of duty over the years, and we pledge to carry on their work to bring stability to…

International Day for Biological Diversity

22 May 2012

Oceans cover almost three-quarters of the surface area of the globe. They are home to the largest animal known to have lived on the planet - the blue whale - as well as billions upon billions of the tiniest of microorganisms. From sandy shores to the darkest depths of the sea, oceans and coasts support a rich tapestry of life on which human communities rely. Fisheries provide more than 15 per cent of the global dietary intake of animal protein. Oceans and coastal areas provide invaluable ecosystem services - from tourism to protection from storms. Minuscule photos…

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

17 May 2012

I welcome the focus on women and girls as the theme of this year's World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. Information and communications technologies are already benefiting women and girls in numerous ways. E-commerce is expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship. Mobile telephones are enabling midwives to make childbirth safer. Electronic social networks are allowing women around the world to mobilize as never before for democracy, dignity and human rights. At the same time, we know that information and communications technology has the potential to cause harm.&nb…

World Water Day

22 March 2012

Over the coming decades, feeding a growing global population and ensuring food and nutrition security for all will depend on increasing food production. This, in turn, means ensuring the sustainable use of our most critical finite resource - water. The theme of this year's World Water Day is water and food security. Agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater. Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability. In many parts…

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

21 March 2012

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an important opportunity to remember the pernicious impact of racism. Racism undermines peace, security, justice and social progress. It is a violation of human rights that tears at individuals and rips apart the social fabric. As we mark this International Day under the theme of "racism and conflict," my thoughts are with the victims. Racism and racial discrimination have been used as weapons to engender fear and hatred. In extreme cases, ruthless leaders instigate prejudice to incite genocide, war crimes and crimes agains…

International Women's Day

8 March 2012

Gender equality and the empowerment of women are gaining ground worldwide. There are more women Heads of State or Government than ever, and the highest proportion of women serving as Government ministers. Women are exercising ever greater influence in business. More girls are going to school, and are growing up healthier and better equipped to realize their potential. Despite this momentum, there is a long way to go before women and girls can be said to enjoy the fundamental rights, freedom and dignity that are their birthright and that will guarantee their well-being.…

World Day of Social Justice

20 February 2012

Over the past year, the winds of change have swept across the globe. Citizens by the millions have voiced their discontent around similar themes: inequality, corruption, repression and the absence of decent work. At the heart of this mass mobilization lies a call for social justice. Achieving social justice for all is integrally linked to realizing the agreed development goals articulated at the Copenhagen Social Summit, the Millennium Summit and elsewhere. As we look to the upcoming Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, we have a chance to rethink devel…

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

27 January 2012

One and a half million Jewish children perished in the Holocaust - victims of persecution by the Nazis and their supporters. Tens of thousands of other children were also murdered. They included people with disabilities...as well as Roma and Sinti. All were victims of a hate-filled ideology that labelled them "inferior". This year's International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust is dedicated to the children - girls and boys who faced sheer terror and evil. Many were orphaned by the war, or ripped away from their families. Many died of starvation, dise…

United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation

19 December 2011

This United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation comes at the end of a dramatic year marked by popular protests against inequality, indignity and oppression. South-South cooperation can help us meet the shared challenge of creating a more equal and sustainable world. At the recent Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, held in Busan, the Republic of Korea, participants agreed that South-South cooperation is a critical development tool to further equality within and among countries. This year's Global South-South Development Expo in Rome also underscored the value of such collaborati…

Human Rights Day

9 December 2011

Human rights belong to every one of us without exception. But unless we know them, unless we demand they be respected, and unless we defend our right -- and the right of others -- to exercise them, they will be just words in a decades-old document. That is why, on Human Rights Day, we do more than celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 - we acknowledge its enduring relevance for our own times. The importance of human rights has been underlined over and over again this year. Across the globe, people mobilized to demand justice, dignity, equalit…

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

2 December 2011

"Together for a better world for all including persons with disabilities in development" It is thirty years since the United Nations first observed the International Year of Disabled Persons under the theme "Full Participation and Equality". During that period, there has been significant progress in raising awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities and in strengthening the international normative framework to realize those rights - from the World Programme of Action (1982) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). More and more countries are comm…

World AIDS Day

1 December 2011

Watch video: Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic. The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. The number of new HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997. New infections are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the AIDS epidemic, HIV incidence has decreased in 22 countries. Among populations at…

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

25 November 2011

Violence against women and girls takes many forms and is widespread throughout the globe. It includes rape, domestic violence, harassment at work, abuse in school, female genital mutilation and sexual violence in armed conflicts. It is predominantly inflicted by men. Whether in developing or developed countries, the pervasiveness of this violence should shock us all. Violence - and in many cases the mere threat of it - is one of the most significant barriers to women's full equality. The right of women and girls to live free of violence is inalienable and fundamental.&…

International Day of Tolerance

16 November 2011

This is a period in which the old world is slowly but irreversibly changing and the contours of a new one are just beginning to take shape. Traditional institutions are being challenged. Budgets are being squeezed. Families are being stressed. All of this flux and churning creates enormous anxiety. At times of change, we must stay true to the ideals and principles that are at the heart of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among those core values is tolerance. Our practice of tolerance must mean more than peaceful coex…

256 search results. Displaying 20 per page.