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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged everyone to “make every effort” to ensure that the new sustainable development goals address equality and help build a life of dignity for all, including people with Down syndrome and other persons with disabilities.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended the Government of Tonga for its decision to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, otherwise known as CEDAW.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the opening of the seventh Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting which brings together the foreign ministers of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to discuss key regional issues, the United Nations spokesperson said today.

The international community must ramp up financial and humanitarian support for Vanuatu's most vulnerable communities as they begin to rebuild and recover from the devastation wrought by Cyclone Pam, a senior United Nations humanitarian official said today.

Nowruz takes place this year as the United Nations works to shape a new vision for a sustainable future and adopt a meaningful universal climate agreement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, calling the ancient celebration of spring “a moment of unity and solidarity, within and among societies, that is all the more important at times of strife and division.”

 

In today's uncertain and turbulent world, the power of poetry can help bring women and men together to craft new forms of dialogue, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared today, as she marked the annual observance of World Poetry Day.

Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the United Nations today urged Member States to boost efforts towards ending discrimination around the world and ratify a critical international convention aimed at abolishing racism in all its forms.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a series of targeted attacks against Nowruz celebrations in Syria which left scores of people dead and wounded, the United Nations spokesperson's office has announced.

Singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams and environmental advocates Philippe Cousteau and Sylvia Earle joined local students at an event held at United Nations Headquarters today to celebrate the International Day of Happiness and highlight the importance of tackling climate change.

Intensifying armed conflict in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao has displaced some 120,000 people since late January, the United Nations refugee agency said today, expressing particular concern for the safety of women and children who could be exposed to exploitation and abuse.