UN summits urge ‘ambition and action’ on climate change, SDGs: Guterres

There are five key United Nations summits taking place next week to spur action on the climate crisis and other global concerns, which will showcase the UN as a “driver for meaningful, positive change”, according to the man at the helm of the Organization.

For UN Secretary-General António Guterres, there is no time to lose in the face of climate change, rising inequality, increasing hatred and intolerance; and what he described as an “alarming” number of peace and security challenges.

The four other summits will address universal health coverage, the Sustainable Development Goals, financing for development and support to Small Island Developing States.

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UN and Red Cross chiefs call for ban of explosive weapons in cities 

UN chief António Guterres and head of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, joined forces on Wednesday to call for an end to the use of explosive weapons in cities. 

Idlib in Syria and the Libyan capital Tripoli are today enduring “a hail of bombs and shells”, they said in a statement. 

The appeal to all parties to armed conflict warns that 50 million people are affected the world by lethal devices, including those that have a “wide impact area” in populated zones. 

An estimated nine in 10 casualties of urban warfare are civilians, they noted.

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South Sudan’s peace process ‘precarious, but progress being made’

One year on from the signing of a Revitalized Agreement to ease conflict in South Sudan, the country’s political leaders “have met some, but certainly not all”, of the expectations laid out, the top UN official for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Briefing the Council in New York, Special Representative and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, explained developments and downfalls he’s witnessed since the official peace ceremony last year.

“The bottom line is this. While the situation for many South Sudanese citizens remains bleak, the last year of peace has kick-started a transformative process that is improving lives,” Mr. Shearer concluded.

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Cities: a ‘cause of and solution to’ climate change

Cities around the world are the “main cause of climate change” but can also offer a part of the solution to reducing the harmful greenhouses gases that are causing global temperatures to rise according to UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

Ms. Sharif will be joining world leaders at United Nations headquarters in New York next week at the Climate Action Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Listen to an exclusive UN News interview  with Mr. Shearer here, from a few weeks ago:

Cameroon stresses commitment to tackle Boko Haram

In the Human Rights Council, Cameroon has reaffirmed its determination to lead “tireless combat” against Boko Haram extremists. 

Addressing the 47-member body in Geneva, Ambassador Mbella Mbella Lejeune also noted that numerous positive steps had been taken for a “durable peace”, following clashes between English-speaking separatists and Government forces. 

After explaining that President Paul Biya’s decision to hold a “grand” national dialogue with all sectors of Cameroonian society aimed to resolve the conflict, the Ambassador noted that there would be no impunity for those responsible for attacks in the north-west and south-west of the country. 

Listen to or download our audio News in Brief for 9 September, on Soundcloud: