Women and gender issues

A new report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development found that the crash in international tourism due to COVID-19 could cause a $4 trillion loss to global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic’s direct impact on the sector and ripple effects on others.

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is appointing today a new Global Advocate for Every Woman Every Child, Kersti Kaljulaid, the President of the Republic of Estonia.

The Ministerial Forums for the High-Level Dialogue on Energy ended today, with commitments announced by India’s major power supplier, NTPC; Power Africa pledging to the electrification of more health centres; and Student Energy aiming to mobilize $150 million to train 35,000 young energy leaders in 100 countries.

Some 1.47 million refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today.  The agency said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, wars and conflict continue to rage across the world, displacing millions and barring many from returning home.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for International Widows’ Day, observed on 23 June:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video remarks to the Women Political Leaders Summit today:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal ceremony, in New York today:

A Kenyan peacekeeper, who recently completed her assignment in Darfur, Sudan, is selected to receive the 2020 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Gomas has caused 13 deaths and destroyed the homes of 5,000 people, humanitarian colleagues report.  The United Nations is assisting with water, shelter, health and family reunification, and peacekeepers are set to clear the main roads into Goma.

Secretary-General António Guterres praised the impactful first decade of the “Every Woman Every Child” campaign, which mobilized more than $180 billion in investments.  While maternal and child deaths have declined significantly in that time, he cautioned that COVID-19 has revealed the fragility of those advances.