Not so long ago, humanity stood on the brink of a self-inflicted catastrophe. Our use of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had torn a hole in the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro said he asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for U.N. mediation in his country's century-old border dispute with neighboring Guyana. The controversy was discussed by Maduro and Ban at a meeting Tuesday morning in New York.
Guyana is no longer interested in the UN Good Offices Process as a means to settle its century-old border dispute with Venezuela, Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge said on Monday in a news briefing live-streamed online.
The Caribbean Community, Caricom is considering a proposal for the region to pursue gradual write-off of its multilateral debt as a means of economic prosperity. The debt relief strategy was put forward by Alicia Barcena from the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at the 36th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, held in Barbados.
The 53 member states of the Commonwealth have pledged to support Guyana in the ongoing maritime border dispute with Venezuela. Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, sought to assure the government of the groupings commitment on his arrival to Jamaica.
Venezuela’s recent claim on Guyana’s maritime territory is a “legal absurdity” and US oil firm ExxonMobil will continue to work as scheduled, President David Granger has said. Labeling Caracas’ claim as the worst intrusion the country has ever had on its sovereignty, the President said his government has made its position on the claim by Venezuela clear to the oil company.
Although the world’s oceans are vast, their capacity to withstand damage caused by human activity is limited, compromising their critical contribution to the future of sustainable development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared on Monday as the United Nations kicked-off its celebrations for the 2015 edition of World Oceans Day.
With many of the earth’s ecosystems nearing “critical tipping points,” the United Nations invited each of the seven billion people on the planet to mark this year’s World Environment Day by making one change towards a more responsible consumption of resources – “be it refusing to buy single-use plastic bags or riding a bike to work.”
On the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the “invaluable contribution” of peacekeeping to the history of the Organization and reaffirmed his commitment to improving the effectiveness of ‘blue helmets’ in the coming years.
The theme of this year’s International Day of Families, “Men in Charge?”, highlights the importance of gender equality and children’s rights in contemporary families, said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his message.