After the big development pledges in Seville, UN says action starts now

After the big development pledges in Seville, UN says action starts now

That’s where the Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA) comes in – a major step to begin implementing the Seville Agreement without delay. It features over 130 concrete actions to support the renewed global financing framework that world leaders just adopted at the international conference. They will help countries mobilise resources for an SDG investment push, build developing […]

Syria: UN commission hails recent action to address past violations

Syria: UN commission hails recent action to address past violations

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro highlighted the establishment of the National Transitional Authority and the National Authority for Missing Persons which are expected to help reveal the fate of the more than 100,000 Syrians estimated to have been forcibly disappeared or gone missing. They are also expected to expose the truth about systematic violations like arbitrary detention, […]

Guterres to launch life-saving campaign strengthening mine action worldwide

Guterres to launch life-saving campaign strengthening mine action worldwide

António Guterres announced the move in a statement issued on Monday, in response to plans by several UN Member States to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The 1997 treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of these weapons.  Landmark global agreeement Since then, it “has led […]

Yemen at breaking point as UN envoy urges action to end suffering

Yemen at breaking point as UN envoy urges action to end suffering

Speaking via videoconference, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the country remains trapped in a prolonged political, humanitarian and development crisis. “Yemen is so much more than the containment of a threat,” he said. “The cost of inaction is high.” Mr. Grundberg stressed the urgent need for progress towards a sustainable political solution, calling […]

Global action needed as progress stalls on disability-inclusive development goals

Global action needed as progress stalls on disability-inclusive development goals

“The message is stark: persons with disabilities face higher poverty, greater unemployment, deeper food and health insecurity and more limited access to education, jobs, and digital technologies,” said Amina Mohammed. But action is underway. The 18th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP18) will […]

World News in Brief: Aid for Syria, children under attack in Mozambique, rights-based climate action

World News in Brief: Aid for Syria, children under attack in Mozambique, rights-based climate action

Despite limited resources, the UN and partners are reaching some 2.5 million people each month across the country. In May alone, more than one million people received assistance, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Cross-border aid has significantly increased this year. Since January, 1,185 humanitarian trucks have crossed from Türkiye […]

UN aims to transform urgency into action at Nice Ocean Conference

UN aims to transform urgency into action at Nice Ocean Conference

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) from 9-13 June will bring together Heads of State, scientists, civil society and business leaders around a single goal: to halt the silent collapse of the planet’s largest – and arguably most vital – ecosystem. The ocean is suffocating due to rising temperatures, rampant acidification, erosion of […]

Biodiversity loss demands urgent global action, says UN chief

Biodiversity loss demands urgent global action, says UN chief

In a message marking Thursday’s International Day for Biological Diversity, the UN chief raised alarm over the “lightning pace” of degradation of the natural world. “Biodiversity is the bedrock of life and a cornerstone of sustainable development,” Mr. Guterres said. “Yet humanity is destroying biodiversity at lightening pace, the result of pollution, climate crisis, ecosystem […]

FAO calls for action amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks

FAO calls for action amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks

FMD is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and various wild species.  Europe is currently facing its worst outbreak so far this century at the same time as an exotic viral strain has been introduced in Iraq and other countries in the Near East. Concern for potential spread […]

More action needed to beat malaria for good, says UN

More action needed to beat malaria for good, says UN

Ahead of World Malaria Day on Friday, UN health agency WHO is calling for renewed efforts at all levels – from global policy to community action – to accelerate progress towards elimination. Malaria is spread by some types of mosquitoes and is mostly found in tropical countries. Symptoms – which can be mild or life-threatening – […]