September 21, 2019 No comments
UN chief calls for ‘a fair globalization’ with first-ever Global Goals Summit
INTERNATIONAL, 21 September 2019, SDGs - “We need more investment, more political action, more priority for a fair globalization”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in an interview on Thursday, when asked about his expectations for the first-ever Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, on 24-25 September at New York headquarters. Mr. Guterres emphasized that, with just over 10 years to go, the world is not on track to hit targets related to sustainable development, and urged world leaders to “take the decisions necessary, in order to come together more effectively to make sure that the 2030 Agenda is successfully implemented”. Accelerating progress towards a better future In 2015, the Member States of the UN adopted the landmark 2030 Agenda, which provides a blueprint for the transition to a healthier...
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September 20, 2019 No comments
World’s 1.8 billion youth must ‘have a say in the future of the planet’
INTERNATIONAL, 20 September 2019, Climate Change - It is “crucial” that the world’s 1.8 billion young people have a say in the fight against climate change and ultimately “the future of the planet” according to the UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake. Young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs and change-makers are due to gather at UN headquarters in New York at the Youth Climate Summit on Saturday 21 September to put pressure on global leaders to take action to prevent climate change. Ms. Wickramanayake will be there, and UN News asked her why young people are so important to the climate action debate. UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, speaking to some of the members of the 4th Batch of Trainees following their Graduation Ceremony in Chamen, Gambia. 5...
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September 20, 2019 No comments
INTERVIEW: Guterres urges world leaders to ‘do what is necessary’ for peace and the planet
INTERNATIONAL, 20 September 2019, SDGs - As global leaders prepare to convene in New York next week to debate the best way forward for the planet, Secretary-General António Guterres is urging them to “do what is necessary” to ensure that “we are able to solve the dramatic problems we face.” The UN chief is urging Member States to bring “concrete plans” to the 74th session of the General Assembly, in hopes of bolstering the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the ambitious goals that are the bedrock of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In a special interview for UN News conducted this week by newly-appointed head of Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, Mr. Guterres lamented that “we are not on track” to meet a 2030 deadline in many aspects, highlighting that the first-ever SDG summit on 24 and 25 September, will inject more momentum. The UN chief told Ms. Fleming that “more and more of the crises...
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September 20, 2019 No comments
Climate emergency ‘a new danger’ to peace, youth activists hear ahead of World Day
INTERNATIONAL, 20 September 2019, Peace and Security - Among the efforts to build a sustainably peaceful world, “urgent climate action is needed” to curb environmental threats to all our well-being and security, the Secretary-General told the annual peace gathering in New York on Friday, addressing a largely youthful crowd. Each 21 September, the General Assembly-mandated International Day of Peace is observed, devoted to “strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples”, with this year’s theme spotlighting climate action as key to that aim. “Today peace faces a new danger: the climate emergency, which threatens our security, our livelihoods and our lives”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message. Speaking to some 700 high school and college student leaders, he explained that peace “is not only about peace among people, but peace between people and the planet”, lamenting that “we have been at...
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September 20, 2019 No comments
‘Collective’ erosion of two-State solution, continues unabated: Mladenov
INTERNATIONAL, 20 September 2019, Peace and Security - The “steady deterioration” of chances that a lasting peace can be negotiated between Israel and Palestine as two States live side by side, reflects a “collective failure” of leadership across the region and the world. “There is no other viable solution to end the conflict”, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, told the Security Council on Friday. “Those who continue to support a two-State outcome must acknowledge that derailing that prospect, means that Palestinians and Israelis are facing a grim future of perpetual occupation, endless violence and threats to international stability”, he said. Earlier, he began his briefing said that the sides remained far apart, and most of the 2016 Council resolution, known as 2334, remained to be implemented: “developments...
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