On World Environment Day, which is observed on 5 June every year, United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres urged everyone to ''cherish the planet that protect us''. In a video message, Connecting people to Nature, uploaded on YouTube, Guterres said, Without a healthy environment we can't end poverty or build prosperity. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home.
The United Nations has warned that President Donald Trump's plans to cut contributions to peacekeeping will make such work impossible. The US administration signaled heavy cuts to UN operations, in its budget proposals released on Tuesday. The US foots more than a quarter of the UN's US$7.9bn peacekeeping bill.
In a “post-truth” world with “fake news” on the rise, and media accountability and credibility falling under question, free, independent and professional journalism has never been more important, the United Nations today said.
United States has withdrawn funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an agency that promotes family planning in more than 150 countries. The state department said the UNFPA supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has asked for help from the United Nations to boost the country's supplies of medicines. Maduro said the UN had the expertise to normalize the supply and distribution of drugs in the country.
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities, reads the United Nations message.
The Falkland Islands elected government has sent a letter to the United Nation Secretary General Antonio Guterres congratulating him on his appointment, and also requesting his good offices to ensure that the UN Decolonization Committee (C24) fulfills its mandate and respects the right of Self-Determination as enshrined in the UN Charter.
In his first day at the helm of the United Nations, Secretary General António Guterres today pledged to make 2017 a year for peace.“On this New Year's Day, I ask all of you to join me in making one shared New Year's resolution: Let us resolve to put peace first,” said Mr. Guterres in an appeal for peace. He said one question weighs heavy on his heart. “That is: how can we help the millions of people caught up in conflict, suffering massively in wars with no end in sight?”
Portugal's António Guterres was sworn in Monday as the ninth U.N. secretary-general. The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective, Guterres told member states. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy, he said.
The UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee adopted this week a consensus decision setting out the conflicting positions of the British and Spanish governments on Gibraltar, and including – for the first time – Britain’s double-lock commitment on sovereignty. The decision was agreed by Britain and Spain despite the starkly contrasting views set out at the last session of the Fourth Committee in October, as reported by the Gibraltar Chronicle.