Fittingly, the sun broke through the clouds over Glasgow on Thursday as delegations and participants prepared for ‘energy day’ at COP26, one of the key thematic sessions taking place during the UN climate summit.
As the World Leaders Summit opened on day two of COP26, UN chief António Guterres sent a stark message to the international community. “We are digging our own graves”, he said, referring to the addiction to fossil fuels which threatens to push humanity and the planet, to the brink, through unsustainable global heating.
The crime of harbouring, in which victims of human trafficking are accommodated or forced to stay in a specific location, is not universally understood by courts around the world. A new UN study aims to address that issue, and improve protection for victims.
An ambitious project to raise awareness about rising insecurity and mass displacement in the Sahel has resulted in an original musical score from Mali songwriter Vieux Farka Touré.
Many developed countries have announced plans to ensure that fossil-fuel powered cars will be taken off the roads in the coming decades, but Jean Todt, the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, stresses that, in developing countries, much more immediate concerns, such as access to public transport and reducing accidents, need to be addressed as a priority.
Seven years into a brutal conflict, Yemen is heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance, but the UN is intent on avoiding a repeat of the worst periods of famine and malnutrition its citizens have suffered. On a recent visit to UN headquarters in New York, David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told UN News that, although emergency funds have been received, the humanitarian response remains severely underfunded.
The delayed 2020 Dubai Expo, the first to be held in the Middle East, officially opened today. The United Nations will hold events and exhibits at a dedicated “UN Hub”, explaining the Organization’s central role in addressing the world’s problems. Here are some things to look out for during this six-month-long “mega-event”.
Based on the core belief that “humanity is deeply interconnected” and “we are one”, the new performance piece, "King Clavé" is adding some musical inspiration to this year’s 20th anniversary of the historic Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) against racism around the globe.
How can the world come together to radically change the way it produces and uses energy, as part of efforts to hold back climate change and to ultimately give humanity a more secure future on planet earth? That’s the question that over one hundred countries, organizations and businesses will be discussing at the United Nations on Friday at the High-level Dialogue on Energy, the first meeting of its kind in 40 years.
Andrew Young, the first African American ambassador to the UN, has earned his place in history, but he credits another African American pioneer, Ralph Bunche, as his inspiration. Bunche, who died 50 years ago, was the first person of African descent to win the Nobel Peace Prize and played a major role in the early days of the UN.
