All responses to the current financial and economic crisis must pay particular attention to the welfare of children, who were most vulnerable to its negative effects, Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, told correspondents at Headquarters today on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
In progress at UNHQ
Press Conference
The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples two years ago signalled the “strong commitment” of the international community to remedy historical ills and combat the ongoing denial of rights, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference today.
United Nations officials -– from support staff to senior decision-makers -- will visit public high schools throughout New York City next week as part of the Department of Public Information’s “UN4U” programme to raise awareness about the Organization’s work and commemorate UN Day, celebrated annually on 24 October, the head of the world body’s public information department said today.
Jordan Ryan, Assistant-Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, said today at a Headquarters press conference that the devastating effects of the late September tsunami and earthquake that battered Samoa and Tonga were a reminder of the importance of investing in disaster risk reduction in order to build back better.
In a preview of her annual report (document A/64/254), set for presentation to the General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict acknowledged the momentum that the Organization had built over the past year to protect the rights of boys and girls enduring armed conflicts around the globe.
A youth-led education focused campaign launched at Headquarters today -- START FREEDOM -- seeks to engage minds and create action against human trafficking, a crime affecting people in all parts of the world, a panel of civil society representatives and United Nations officials said.
To stop harmful trafficking in human organs, tissues and cells, a new international convention was needed to protect victims and prosecute offenders, correspondents were told at a press conference this afternoon, following the launch of a study on the topic at United Nations Headquarters.
While “much-needed” progress had been made during the just-concluded ten-day negotiating session in Bangkok towards an agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team today said there was still a disconnect between what national leaders said in summit meetings and what their negotiators offered.
The Foreign Minister of Honduras, speaking at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, called on the international community to hold firm in its non-acceptance of the authorities installed by the 28 June coup in her country if there was no resolution of the situation by a 15 October deadline.
At a Headquarters press conference today, the United Nations Agency dealing with human settlements launched a global report that backed a unified approach to urban planning -- one that recognized key factors shaping twenty-first century cities, especially the demographic, environmental, economic and socio-spatial challenges -- by all stakeholders involved in the process of accommodating the lives of millions of people in rapidly growing cities around the world.