Environmental issues and sustainable development

The Office for Children and Armed Conflict says the United Nations and the Plateforme coalition of armed movements in Mali signed new action plans by which the latter committed to release all child recruits, end military use of schools, and guarantee unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to all children.

Weather-related disasters have risen five-fold since 1970, killing $2 million people, mostly in developing countries, and causing $3.64 trillion in losses, the World Meteorological Organization reported today.  However, the number of deaths fell significantly thanks to better early warning systems and disaster management.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Biodiversity pre-Conference of the Parties virtual meeting, held today:

Acting without a vote, the General Assembly adopted three resolutions today, two proclaiming World Wetlands Day and World Cotton Day, respectively and the third expressing solidarity with the people and Government of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating 14 August earthquake in that country.

At least 527 civilians were killed, injured, abducted or just disappeared, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) says in its quarterly report on trends in human rights violations and abuses, an overall increase of more than 25 per cent from the first quarter.

One billion children are at extremely high risk of suffering the effects of the climate crisis, according to a new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  Environmental shocks may be particularly severe in the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria, jeopardizing access to education and basic services.

Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks.  The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 report on the physical science basis of the sixth assessment, today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that, despite numerous challenges, it has delivered food to more than a million people in the north-western and parts of southern Tigray in June and July.  More than 175 trucks arrived in Tigray during the first week of August, and an additional 90 are expected in the coming days.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to “The road to the SDGs:  the journey so far” (SDG achievements and initiatives — the Islamic Development Bank’s SDG journey) today: