UN – United Nations

By Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Secretary-General of the SIDS4 Conference This month, the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda will host the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) – a pivotal moment for the international community to join in partnership with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and work toward a more sustainable, prosperous and resilient future. SIDS are home to more than 50 million people. Their livelihoods and […]

By Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Secretary-General of the SIDS4 Conference As the curtains close on the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) it is time to hope for a brighter future for SIDS.  This gathering –  hosted with warmth and grace by the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda –  was attended by over 3,000 participants from around the globe, including heads of state and government, ministers,

Then, there’s the shadow pandemic, which is rapidly unraveling the limited, but precious, progress that the world has made toward gender equality in the past few decades. As summarized by a new UN report about COVID-19 and girls and women, this shadow pandemic can be seen in a spike in domestic violence as girls and women are sheltering-in-place with their abusers; the loss of employment for women who hold the majority of insecure, informal and

The 77th World Health Assembly: A Decisive Moment for the Future of Global Health Cooperation | unfoundation.org BlogGlobal HealthThe 77th World Health Assembly: A Decisive Moment for the Future of Global Health Cooperation WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives remarks at the 76th World Health Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: WHO / Pierre Albouy Thousands of government officials, global health experts, and advocates from around the world will convene

By Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Member of the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs At the most recent BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August 2023, one point that was made regularly by policy makers and commentators alike was that the BRICS now contributed more to global GDP than the G7 nations (31.5% of global GDP versus 30%), with their share expected to

By Jean Quinn, Executive Director, UNANIMA International; Chair, NGO Committee for Social Development  When I came to the UN eight years ago, I was overwhelmed by the extent of the issues presented to me. However, I knew almost immediately that I was in the right place at the right time. The UN is a vastly different landscape to where I come from in the West of Ireland. Yet I went towards it with an open

How the Tradition of Aloha is Delivering SDG Progress in Hawai‘i The mountainous coastline of Hawaii. Photo: Roberto Nickson/ Unsplash People across America are using the Sustainable Development Goals as a road map to recover better by turning these global ambitions into local action. In Hawaiʻi, that means uniting communities around the tradition and spirit of aloha to accelerate progress on the SDGs and recover from COVID-19. Bella Hughes remembers picking up seashells on Waimānalo

Why 2024 Could Be a Huge Year for the SDGs in the U.S. | unfoundation.org Experts across the U.S. are proving that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be used to create sustainable, resilient, and inclusive communities — for all Americans. Photo: UN Photo/Manual Elías There is a growing movement across the United States — fueled by students, local leaders, and community members of all kinds — to harness the power and potential of the

By Dario José Mejía Montalvo, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues The recent sessions of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) have addressed crucial issues and persistent and emerging challenges for the realization of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. For example, during the 2022 session, amidst the pandemic, the main theme was “Indigenous Peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent”. It