Environmental issues and sustainable development

Some 50 people died in three attacks in Burkina Faso’s northern regions — the Sahel, North, Centre-North and East — marking the deadliest violence since March, when 43 civilians were killed during two attacks on northern villages.  Rising insecurity is making it difficult to reach the 2.2 million people in need of aid throughout the country.

The twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will now take place from 1-12 November 2021, in Glasgow.  United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said that if done right, recovery from the COVID-19 crisis can foster a more inclusive climate path.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s remarks to the fifth session of the Economic and Social Council Operational Activities Segment:  Dialogue with the United Nations Sustainable Development Group Chair and Heads of Entities — Working together to accelerate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) progress during the Decade of Action and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, in New York today:

As COVID-19 continues to expose fragilities across the globe, the United Nations has a “triple imperative” of helping countries respond, safeguarding development gains and ensuring that recovery aligns with efforts to achieve greater well-being for people and planet, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Economic and Social Council, as he outlined priorities for the system’s operational activities.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the webinar series organized by New York City on “Global Vision/Urban Action:  Collaborating for a Stronger Future”, in New York today:

Global human development — which is the combined measure of the world’s education, health and living standards — is set to decline this year for the first time since 1990, when the concept was first developed, the United Nations Development Programme reported today, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a determining factor.

Following are Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to Session 2 of the Africa Dialogues Series 2020 on COVID-19 and Silencing the Guns in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities; Global Solidarity and Stronger Partnerships for Africa’s response to COVID-19 and Silencing the Guns:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on 22 May:

The 2020 World Health Statistics, published today by the World Health Organization (WHO), show that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods and threatening recent development gains, underlining the urgent need for all nations to invest in strong health systems.

Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s briefing, as prepared for delivery, to the Peacebuilding Commission on the joint mission to Papua New Guinea, in New York today: