Security Council recommends former Prime Minister of Portugal Guterres as next UN Secretary-General
6 October 2016
The Security Council today formally chose the former Prime Minister of Portugal, Ant¨®nio Guterres, as its nominee to be the next Secretary-General of the 51³Ô¹Ï for a five-year term when incumbent Ban Ki-moon steps down on 31 December.
The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted in a private meeting by acclamation, now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for formal approval.?
On an official visit to Italy, Mr. Ban said?in Rome this morning that Mr. Guterres is an excellent choice?noting that the two had worked closely during Mr. Guterres long and outstanding tenure?as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.?
'He showed deep compassion for the millions of people who were forced to leave their homes'?Mr. Ban said, adding: 'His past experience as Prime Minister of Portugal, his extensive knowledge of world affairs and his keen intelligence will serve him to lead the 51³Ô¹Ï at a crucial period'
Call for Participants for COP22 Side Event in Marrakech 10-11 November
The 22nd?session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 51³Ô¹Ï Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) ?and the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) will be held in?Marrakech, Morocco from 7-18 November 2016.
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According to Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, The UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech is the crucial next step for governments looking to operationalize the Paris Climate Change Agreement adopted last year. COP 22 is therefore incredibly important.
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UN Secretary-General?s message on World Habitat Day
3 October 2016
Later this month, Governments and their partners will meet in Quito, Ecuador, for the 51³Ô¹Ï Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III).Held every 20 years, the Habitat conference is designed to reflect on the state of human settlements and on what we want the towns and cities of the future to look like.
With the world embarking this year on implementing the historic 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Habitat III has particular resonance.The 2030 Agenda is a comprehensive, integrated and inclusive blueprint for peace, prosperity, dignity and opportunity for all people on a healthy planet.Achieving its 17 Sustainable Development Goals will depend, in large part, on whether we can make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
UN unveils data partnership with Twitter in support of Global Goals
The 51³Ô¹Ï Global Pulse initiative today announced a partnership with Twitter that will provide the UN with access to the platform's data tools to support efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals () adopted by world leaders last year.
Opening Assembly debate, Ban calls on world leaders to 'act now,' work together for a better future
20 September 2016 ¨C Highlighting the challenges confronting the global community, 51³Ô¹Ï Ban Ki-moon today opened the 71st annual debate of the UN General Assembly with a call on world leaders to recognize that the important positions they hold are a reflection of the trust the people have in them and not personal property.
My message to all is clear: serve your people. Do not subvert democracy; do not pilfer your country's resources; do not imprison and torture your critics, Mr. Ban said in his to leaders from the UN's member countries of the UN.
He added, however, that after 10 years as the top UN official, he is more convinced than ever that we have the power to end war, poverty and persecution.
Migration Dynamics, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa
On 19 September the 51³Ô¹Ï General Assembly hosted its first ever High-Level Summit to Address Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants with the aim of bringing countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach to addressing the worst refugee crisis since the end of WWII.? The summit provided an historic opportunity to develop a blueprint for a better international response. On the occasion of this meeting, UNAI asked researches at UNAI member institutions to submit articles highlighting their research and its implications in helping to solve this issue. Through this series, UNAI hopes to provide an understanding of refugee/migrant flows to its readers, highlight the importance of addressing refugee and migration flows in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and showcase the work of professors and researchers at UNAI institutions.
Europe and the Refugee Crisis: A Challenge to Our Civilization
On 19 September the 51³Ô¹Ï General Assembly will host its first ever High-Level Summit to Address Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants with the aim of bringing countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach to addressing the worst refugee crisis since the end of WWII. The summit provides an historic opportunity to develop a blueprint for a better international response. On the occasion of this meeting, UNAI has asked researches at UNAI member institutions to submit articles highlighting their research and its implications in helping to solve the issue. Through this series, UNAI hopes to provide an understanding of refugee/migrant flows to its readers, highlight the importance of addressing refugee and migration flows in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and showcase the work of professors and researchers at UNAI institutions.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Video Message for International Day of Peace observances
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on?21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.?
This year the day will be marked on?Friday, 16 September at 9:00am EST?when the Secretary-General rings the Peace Bell in the Peace Garden at 51³Ô¹Ï Headquarters which will be followed by a minute of silence. ?Women Nobel Peace Prize laureates and the 51³Ô¹Ï Messengers of Peace will be invited to participate in the ceremony. The 51³Ô¹Ï Education Outreach Section will hold a global student videoconference on the same day, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., also at 51³Ô¹Ï Headquarters. ??
The Secretary-General recorded to commemorate the day.
Global Citizenship Education & the Path to Peace: Preventing Violent Extremism and Promoting Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity
Can teaching students to view themselves as citizens of the world be the key to building peace and advancing equality and justice?? This was the question raised on 9 September at the 51³Ô¹Ï Headquarters at an panel discussion organized by UNESCO, in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Korea, Croatia, and Andorra, Jordan to the 51³Ô¹Ï, the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding? (APCEIU), UN? Academic? Impact? (UNAI),? UN? Women, and InterPress Service entitled Global Citizenship Education: An Emerging Agenda for Peace and Preventing Violent Extremism and Promoting? Sustainable Development and Human Dignity.
The voice of an empowered girl: WiSci STEAM Camp 2016
By In¨¦s R¨¦nique, WiSci Camp Counselor?and Girl Up?Teen Advisor alumnae.
WiSci STEAM Camp 2016 brought together girls from Peru, Chile, Mexico and the United States. These girls were between the ages of 14-18, and had one major thing in common: a passion for science, technology, engineering, arts, and/or mathematics. Each girl had a different story as to why she was at this summer camp in Peru. But they had all come together to learn from the experts, about the subjects they love. The young women that participated were empowered, motivated, and ready to take on the challenges ahead of them.?
INTERVIEW: Selection of next UN Secretary-General has been game-changing process, says outgoing General Assembly President
8 September 2016 ¨C On 15 June 2015, the 51³Ô¹Ï General Assembly elected Mogens Lykketoft ¨C a Danish national ¨C to serve as the President of its seventieth session. At the time of his election, Mr. Lykketoft was the Speaker (President) of the Danish Parliament, a position he had held since 2011. Born on 9 January 1946, it was a fitting coincidence that he would turn 70 during his term as President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly¨C a personal fact he highlighted during his acceptance speech to the world body upon his election.
His tenure as President of the UN General Assembly ¨C which ran from September 2015 ¨C comes to an end this September 2016.
Greek volunteers awarded top UN humanitarian honour for efforts with migrants and refugees
6 September 2016 ¨C A Greek human rights activist and a Greek volunteer rescue team ¨C Efi Latsoudi and the Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) ¨C have been jointly awarded this year's?for their efforts to aid refugees arriving in Greece during 2015.
Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and persecution last year made the desperate bid to reach Europe in search of safety, many risking their lives in unseaworthy boats and dinghies, in a journey which all too often proved insurmountable, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a??on the win.
On World Day, top UN officials call for prompt entry into force of nuclear test ban treaty
29 August 2016 -?Marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, senior 51³Ô¹Ï officials today called for the entry into force of a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. Today marks a quarter of a century since the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan, ground zero for more than 450 nuclear tests, Secretary-General?Ban Ki-moon in his message for the day.?The victims there are joined by others scattered across Central Asia, North Africa, North America and the South Pacific.
A prohibition on all nuclear testing will end this poisonous legacy,?Mr. Ban added, noting that it will boost momentum for other disarmament measures by showing that multilateral cooperation is possible, and it will build confidence for other regional security measures, including a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.
'We cannot and will not leave anyone behind,' says UN chief on World Humanitarian Day
19 August 2016 ¨C With a record 130 million people worldwide now dependent on humanitarian assistance,??Ban Ki-moon stressed that though solutions to the crises that plunged these people into such desperate hardship are neither simple nor quick, there are things we can all do ¨C today, and every day. We can show compassion, we can raise our voices against injustice, and we can work for change.
On International Day, UN says youth can lead global drive for a more sustainable future
The world's young people ¨C who make up the largest generation of youth in history ¨C can lead a global drive to break the patterns of the past and set the world on course to a more sustainable future, 51³Ô¹Ï??Ban Ki-moon said youth, with their creativity and idealism are the key to delivering the goals of the new UN sustainability agenda.
Young people are directly affected by the tragic contradictions that prevail today: between abject poverty and ostentatious wealth, gnawing hunger and shameful food waste, rich natural resources and polluting industries, said Mr. Ban in his??on?, celebrated annually on 12 August.