SDGs

A community forest conservation area in Dalaikoro, Fiji. Forest cover is vital to maintain the ecosystem in the region, which is in turn critical for communities in the Pacific island nation.
FAO/Rudolf Hahn

New UN agency guidelines aim to sustain forest benefits for future generations

10 May 2018
Global

New guidelines designed to give poor and isolated communities more of a say in how tropical forests are used and preserved around the world were published on Thursday, by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Emergency services respond to a car accident in New York City, United States. Prompt response and medical assistance can help save lives in road crashes.
UN News/Vibhu Mishra

UN launches initiative to improve road safety worldwide

12 April 2018
Global

With some 1.3 million drivers, passengers and pedestrians dying each year on the world’s roads, the United Nations took a major step to address this tragedy by launching on Thursday a trust fund to spur action that could save lives and prevent the loss of opportunity associated with road accidents.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (left) addresses the media at a press conference in Minsk, Belarus.
United Nations/Egor Dubrovsky

At leaders forum in Belarus, deputy UN chief urges concrete action on Global Goals

21 February 2018
Global

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the most ambitious, universal, people-centred and planet-sensitive set of goals and targets ever conceived by the United Nations, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a regional leaders forum in Belarus on Wednesday.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (foreground left) and UN Special Envoy for Haiti Josette Sheeran (rear left) with Haitian families affected by cholera.
UN Haiti

UN 'will walk with Haiti' on path towards sustainable development, senior official pledges

5 November 2017
Americas

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and UN Special Envoy for Haiti Josette Sheeran wrapped up a three-day visit to the island on Sunday, pledging more help to defeat cholera and assist the Government in achieving the broader aims of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Pia Stefanizzi, Chief Integrated Support Services (CISS) in the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), conducts a strategic joint logistic meeting with some chiefs of sections (March 2017).
MINUSTAH/Igor Rugwiza

INTERVIEW: UN should be flagbearer when it comes to gender parity, stresses top official

15 September 2017

This week Secretary-General António Guterres launched a new strategy to achieve gender parity across the United Nations – something he described as “an urgent need, a moral duty, an operational necessity – and a personal priority.”

Jayathma Wickramanayake delivers her first public remarks as Youth Envoy at the commemoration of World Youth Skills Day at UN Headquarters.
Jess Walker

INTERVIEW: Meet the new UN Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake

11 August 2017
Global

Hailing from Sri Lanka, the second-ever United Nations Youth Envoy is no stranger to rolling up her sleeves to get things done.

Photo: Tran Vinh Nghia/UNDP
Tran Vinh Nghia/UNDP

FEATURE: UN Ocean Conference ‘dream come true’ for Caribbean nations such as Trinidad and Tobago

2 June 2017
Americas

Protecting the oceans is among the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the blueprint for a more just and equitable world adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations in September 2015.

Ms. Lakhan Baptiste (right), with the organization Nature Seekers, gets help measuring a leatherback turtle that has just laid her eggs on Matura Beach. The group has become a model for conservation efforts in the Caribbean region.
UN News/Lulu Gao

FEATURE: UN-backed projects in the Caribbean highlight connection between life on land and life below water

26 May 2017
Americas

The vital role of the world's oceans in human well-being and development is being highlighted next month as the United Nations hosts a global conference aimed at protecting these resources.

Shamshad Akhtar, the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, delivering her policy statement at the 71st session of the Commission.
ESCAP

ESCAP: 70 years of UN efforts to advance socio-economic development in Asia and the Pacific

12 May 2017
Asia Pacific
Notwithstanding the challenges faced by countries in Asia and Pacific, the region has witnessed economic and social achievements beyond expectations over the past 70 years, according to the head of the United Nations body assisting with development efforts.
Plastic bottles and garbage waste from a nearby village wash on the shores of a river and then spill into the sea.
UN Photo/Martine Perret

FEATURE: UN’s mission to keep plastics out of oceans and marine life

27 April 2017
Global

There will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050 unless people stop using single-use plastic items such as plastic bags and plastic bottles, according to figures cited by the United Nations.