Environmental issues and sustainable development

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has launched a new Peace Fellows programme to increase participation in the country’s peace process.  It brings together representatives from all 10 states and three administrative areas to share information about the 2018 Peace Agreement, with a focus on education.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cited a tight window for farmers in hunger-stricken northern Ethiopia to get crops in the ground ahead of upcoming seasonal rains.  It appealed for $30 million in urgent support, noting that farmers have seen seeds and animals looted and credit lines disappear.

The high-level political forum today examined the findings and recommendations from the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development, highlighting ways in which these organs are mobilizing regional action and leveraging regional frameworks on the road to 2030 and beyond.

The world has the means, money, skills and vaccines to strike a monumental post‑pandemic shift towards an inclusive, connected and healthy planet for all, and the time for hesitation is over, world leaders declared at the opening of the ministerial segment of the 2021 high-level political forum on sustainable development today.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as escalating conflict has displaced 270,000 Afghans inside the country since January, bringing the total uprooted population to more than 3.5 million.  UNHCR said the needs of those who have fled are “suddenly acute”.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the 2021 high-level political forum on sustainable development’s first session of voluntary national review presentations, held today:

Experts today explored ways to scale up public and private financing for post-pandemic economic recovery, climate action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as the 2021 high-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, entered its second week.

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat has a new draft Global Biodiversity Framework to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect nature, and its essential services to people.  It will serve as the basis for negotiations at the Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, in October.

One of the COVID-19 pandemic’s hard lessons demonstrates that the use of technology alone cannot make global development goals a reality, scientists and technology experts said, as the high-level political forum on sustainable development continued its 2021 session.