With agricultural expansion driving 90 per cent of global forest loss and risk of species extinction growing at an unprecedented rate, speakers in the high-level political forum on sustainable development today called for rebalancing the relationship between humans and nature, exploring ways to better protect terrestrial ecosystems, biodiversity and land resources on a large, impactful scale.
Calls to achieve gender equality and preserve the ocean’s vast marine resources dominated the high-level political forum on sustainable development today, as delegates explored the myriad policy, legal, financial and environmental reforms needed to jump-start a holistic transformation of their countries emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and create a world that supports all people.
Despite positive political developments in West Africa and the Sahel — including recent elections in the Gambia and Senegal — the Security Council heard today that a series of coups d’état requires strengthened State institutions and a return to constitutional order to consolidate democratic gains, as members also highlighted proliferating terrorist activity and urged increased support for regional security arrangements to address persistent insecurity.
Temporary school closures during the COVID-19 crisis left 1.6 billion children unable to learn — 91 per cent of students worldwide — including nearly 369 million who rely on school meals for daily nutrition, speakers in the high-level political forum on sustainable development stressed today, as they called for the wholesale transformation of education systems towards those that place student needs at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
With food prices at near record highs, rising energy costs triggering fuel shortages and the financial squeeze induced by COVID-19 limiting the ability of the world’s least developed countries to bounce back, Governments must act now to save lives and foster holistic change across their societies, speakers stressed today as the Economic and Social Council high-level political forum opened its 2022 session.
LISBON, 1 July — The 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference concluded today with world leaders adopting an action-oriented Political Declaration to save the ocean from existing and future threats, including marine pollution, harmful fishing practices, biodiversity loss, and acidification.
Political leadership, along with sustainable financing from the international community, are needed to create safer roads, save lives and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), General Assembly delegates agreed during the conclusion of a two-day high-level meeting on global road safety, in which 80 delegations participated and three multi-stakeholder panels were held.
LISBON, 30 June — Calls for the full implementation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dominated the seventh Lisbon dialogue today, with delegates describing the landmark treaty as a “beacon” of multilateralism and “starting point” for improving the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean through international law.
