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.
The General Assembly remains unable to complete the election of members to the Economic and Social Council to replace those whose terms are expiring on 31 December.
The participation of young people is vital in order to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, young delegates and high-level Government officials alike told the Economic and Social Council today as it concluded its eleventh annual Youth Forum.
From remote work to green energy to ending conflicts, young people must be at the forefront of planning for a truly transformed, post-COVID-19 future, speakers told the Economic and Social Council’s annual Youth Forum today, while warning against resorting to tokenism or including youth voices to merely “tick a box”.
The General Assembly adopted 59 resolutions and one decision recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, covering a range of issues, from the rights of refugees and others forced to flee their homes, to the provision of universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
As the world endeavours to recover from the COVID‑19 pandemic, without increased investment in development, political and peace missions will simply fail, delegates heard at a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and Peacebuilding Commission today.
After unanimously adopting two draft resolutions pertaining to the Economic and Social Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today, the General Assembly also concluded its debate on equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council.
For Youth Day at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group and young climate activists discussed how to include young people in formal decision-making processes. Indigenous youth leaders also shared on the importance of traditional knowledge as a vital component of climate action.
Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to a virtual side event of the Economic and Social Council’s High-Level Political Forum on “Equity in the era of COVID-19 and the Sustainable Development Goals: Improving Accountability for the Health and Rights of Vulnerable Women, Children and Adolescents”, on 13 July:
