News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

New York, 30 August 2020 The crime of enforced disappearance is rife across the world. We see new cases almost daily, including the disappearance of defenders of the environment, who are often indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, the excruciating pain of old cases is still acute, as the fate of thousands…

New York, 7 September 2020 Around the world, nine out of every ten people breathe unclean air. Air pollution contributes to heart disease, strokes, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. It causes an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year, predominantly in low- and middle-income…

New York, 9 September 2020 I am pleased to join you for the first observance of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. I thank the State of Qatar, UNESCO, UNICEF and the Education Above All Foundation for organizing this high-level event. Education is a fundamental human right. It…

New York, 9 September 2020 Thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, I am pleased to join Professor [ Petteri] Taalas of the World Meteorological Organization for this launch of United in Science 2020, a multi-agency compilation of the latest climate science. Professor Taalas will walk…

New York, 12 September 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating lives and livelihoods around the world. It poses the greatest risks to developing countries and to vulnerable people and communities. As we mark this year’s United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, we are highlighting the power…

New York, 11 September 2020 I thank the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council for convening this joint briefing on my Report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace – focusing on the 2020 review of the peacebuilding architecture. I thank Member States for engaging actively and…

New York, 15 September 2020 As the world confronts COVID-19, democracy is crucial in ensuring the free flow of information, participation in decision-making and accountability for the response to the pandemic. Yet since the beginning of the crisis, we have seen the emergency used in a range of…

New York, 16 September 2020 There are few global agreements as successful as the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Today, on World Ozone Day, we celebrate 35 years of this convention, which was the first step in fixing the hole in the planet’s ozone layer. Gases used in…

New York, 15 September 2020 I am pleased to join you for the closing of the 74 th session of the General Assembly -- a session like no other in the past 75 years. The last seven months have been extremely difficult for the people we serve, and for many of us, personally and professionally. The COVID…

New York, 15 September 2020 It is a pleasure to be with you again for the opening of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Let me begin by warmly congratulating His Excellency Ambassador Volkan Bozkir of Turkey on his election as General Assembly President. Mr. President, you can…

New York, 18 September 2020 Around the world, despite decades of activism, and dozens of laws on equal pay, women still earn less than 80 cents for every dollar men do. For women with children, women of colour, women refugees and migrants, and women with disabilities, that figure is even lower. If…