The newly named Department of Global Communications is instilling a culture of collaboration and innovation and undertaking measures to create broader public engagement needed to tackle global challenges, the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications told the Committee on Information today as it opened its forty-first session.
Civil society leaders briefing the Security Council today described a deepening crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory characterized by political mistrust, economic challenges and environmental degradation while calling upon authorities in the Middle East to harness new green technologies as a tool for peace.
The General Assembly today held a multi-stakeholder hearing as part of the preparatory process for its high-level meeting on universal health coverage, addressing the theme of “moving together to build a healthier world”.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today heard myriad challenges these communities face in pursuing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as calls for indigenous peoples’ inclusion at the highest level of decision-making by granting them Observer Status in the General Assembly.
While the world needs multilateralism more than ever to address increasingly complex challenges, its institutions — including the United Nations — must embrace reforms in order to be effective and relevant, speakers said today as the General Assembly concluded its inaugural high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.
Amid flaring tensions in eastern Ukraine, delegates in the Security Council today urged all parties to the conflict — now in its fifth year — to avoid unilateral actions that could exacerbate tensions, and to uphold their commitments, under the Minsk Protocol agreements to bring peace to the region’s 3.5 million beleaguered people in need of humanitarian assistance.
With the successful inclusion of indigenous peoples’ concerns in the major global frameworks, the priority now is to translate these aspirations into concrete improvements, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today in its fourth day of discussions.
Indigenous peoples face a worrying escalation in their criminalization and harassment, especially when defending and exercising rights to their territories and natural resources, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today as it continued its third day of discussions.
Warning against unilateral moves, speakers called for reinvigorated multilateral responses to the contemporary challenges facing the international community, including climate change, geopolitical tensions, terrorism, poverty and inequalities, as the General Assembly today held a commemorative meeting observing the United Nations International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.
Among those suffering most from “a litany of horrors” in Syria are persons with disabilities, who are often excluded and face specific protection and psychosocial challenges, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told the Security Council today, as she described deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the country.
