Economic and Social Council: Press Release

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s remarks to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York today, 19 January:

PORT-OF-SPAIN, 13 November -- The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean is convening a Regional Expert Group Meeting on Knowledge Management for Development, to be held at its office in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Tuesday 17 November.

With just over a month left before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, countries will discuss one of the linchpin issues for a new climate deal -- the transfer of technology -- at a two-day meeting in New Delhi from 22 to 23 October.

Following a recent mission to Bolivia and Paraguay, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues released two reports today expressing grave concern over forced labour suffered by indigenous peoples in the Chaco regions of those two countries.

In an agreement that signals a significant convergence between developing and developed countries on key issues, countries agreed on a wide range of policy options and measures at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to address the food and climate crises in a manner that improves the wealth and well-being of people while protecting the environment. The Commission reached its agreement on Friday evening, as it concluded its seventeenth session.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet at Headquarters from 18 to 29 May to discuss ways to further implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which gained momentum last month, when Australia officially endorsed it after previously having voted against it.

All 192 Member States of the United Nations agreed on the need for intensified global action to protect the world’s forests from a series of environmental threats, including climate change, loss of biodiversity and desertification, as the United Nations Forum on Forests concluded its biennial meeting this weekend on the brink of the upcoming climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.

With a lingering food crisis and global population growing by 90 million a year, countries will decide how they can scale up successful pilot projects to grow more food in a greener way when the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development meets at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 4 to 15 May.

27 April 2009

Economic and Social CouncilECOSOC/6388

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Economic and Social Council

Special High-Level Meeting

5^th & 6^th Meetings (AM & PM)

20 April 2009

Economic and Social CouncilECOSOC/6387

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Economic and Social Council

2009 Organizational Session

4^th Meeting (PM)