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UN General Assembly President upholds value of multilateralism in speech closing annual debate

The only way to guarantee peace, security and sustainable development is for countries to work together, the UN General Assembly president said in his speech on Monday concluding the annual high-level debate in the Hall.

‘We need to stand up now’ for older persons: urges UN rights expert on World Day

In the coming decade, the number of persons aged 60 or over is projected to grow by 46 per cent, making the increase in those officially classified as elderly, one of the “most significant transformations of this century,'' the United Nations declared on Tuesday, marking the International Day of Older Persons. 

Effective multilateralism the antidote to today’s ‘divisions’, Holy See tells UN Assembly

 As a precondition for addressing so many of today’s greatest challenges, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, State Secretary of the Holy See, told the United Nations on Saturday morning that “galvanizing effective multilateralism” is one of the most important priorities for the international community. 

Unable to accept its decline, West subverts international law to suit its needs, Russia’s Lavrov tells UN

While crediting the United Nations for preventing ‘World War III’, the Foreign Minister of Russia lamented to the General Assembly on Friday that the number of conflicts on the planet has not declined, nor has enmity weakened.

‘No place for violence, intimidation or fraud’ in Afghan elections: UN chief

All key actors in Afghanistan must “uphold their responsibility to support a peaceful, credible, transparent and inclusive electoral process”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement on Friday, the day before presidential elections are due to be held in the country, adding that “there is no place for violence, intimidation or fraud”.

Mirrored classroom display highlights scale of massive education crisis

A non-profit dedicated to exposing the severity of the global education crisis has been inviting delegates to the UN General Assembly inside a compact mirrored installation this week, to drive home the reality that around 260 million children are missing from classrooms around the world.

UN chief sets out roadmap to ‘raise ambition’, fund sustainable development

In his opening remarks to the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, held at UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, UN chief António Guterres outlined his roadmap for financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN’s blueprint for the transition to a healthier planet and a fairer world.

Sustainable development summit a reminder of ‘the boundless potential of humanity’

The first UN summit on the progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development closed on a hopeful note, with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed declaring that the two-day event had been a reminder of “the boundless potential of humanity to create a better future for all”.

Security Council debates closer links between multilateral organizations in Europe and Asia

Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the move to increase cooperation between the UN and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Wednesday.

‘Childhood is changing, and so must we’, UNICEF declares, as world marks historic convention

Since its adoption 30 years ago, the milestone Convention of the Rights of the Child and its near universal membership has created “unprecedented international solidarity around children’s rights,'' the Secretary-General said at a commemorative event an UN Headquarters on Wednesday.