News from the UN # 124

The 26th annual meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, better known as COP 26, took place in Glasgow from 31st October – 12th November. Acknowledged by many to be “our last best chance” to keep the global temperature rise within the figure of 1.5 degrees Celsius defined as the goal in the 2015 Paris Agreement relative to pre-industrial levels, COP 26 was the subject of high hopes and expectations, as well as fears and trepidation. Over the 2020/2021 period, reports on the climate crisis grew ever louder, extreme weather events more frequent and more insistent. COP 26 brought together heads of state and high level representatives of 197 nations representing 95% of the planet, as well as scientists, climate activists, faith-based organizations, businesses and grassroots groups from all continents. Regrettably, COVID restrictions limited participation from the global south, something that had earlier led to a call for postponement, an option that was refuted by the UK which held the presidency, assisted by Italy.

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News from the UN # 123

This year’s opening of the 76th UN General Assembly took place in late September at a time when the world was beset by ravages of COVID-19, the accelerating climate crisis, rising inequality and unfolding humanitarian disasters. The urgency of the moment was reflected in the theme: Building resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations. In hybrid format, prerecorded and live videos of speeches by Heads of State across the globe punctuated the in-person ones delivered from the rostrum in the General Assembly Hall during 10 days of General Debate. The need for tackling global problems with re-invigorated multilateral cooperation was a recurrent theme, sometimes contradicted by contested nationalist voices. Signs of hope were evidenced in new alliances and pledges made by member states, expressed by powerful new and diverse voices. Occasional protests brought color and voice to the streets surrounding the UN HQ in New York. In this issue of News from the UN we share some small glimpses of the associated events.

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News from the UN # 122

The UN High Level Political Forum was convened in a hybrid format during the 10 day period 6 – 15th July 2021 to review progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to assess the impact of COVID-19. More than 3,400 people participated in this year’s virtual forum, including stakeholders from civil society, NGOs and the private sector. The theme for this year’s Forum was “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development” Every session held in the first week seemed to sound the alarm of growing inequality. COVID 19 has certainly revealed the hidden face of inequality as well as exacerbating the recognized disparities. Interventions by member states, UN agencies and other stakeholders acknowledged that accelerating progress towards the achievement of the SDGs is in itself a response plan to COVID-19. While acknowledging the heavy toll that the pandemic had taken on progress on the SDGs, there was general recognition that Agenda 2030 provides an essential roadmap towards a post COVID world.

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News from the UN # 121

O Dia Mundial do Ambiente, a 5 de Junho, marcou o lançamento da Década das Nações Unidas para a restauração do Ecossistema sob o tema: "Reimaginar, recriar, restaurar": Acções urgentes para o ambiente mundial e a restauração dos ecossistemas". A iniciativa global da ONU sobre restauração de ecossistemas foi solicitada por uma resolução da Assembleia Geral da ONU em 2019 como parte de um esforço para ajudar na recuperação de ecossistemas que foram degradados ou destruídos, bem como na conservação dos ecossistemas que ainda estão intactos. A resolução pressiona para uma acção urgente, pois nunca houve uma necessidade tão urgente de reanimar os ecossistemas danificados como agora. "Os ecossistemas suportam toda a vida na Terra.

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News from the UN # 120

The month of May brought many reminders of our global interconnectedness and the increasing importance of our shared responsibility to address the climate crisis and recovery from COVID 19 in a coherent and integrated way. “Everything is interconnected” said Pope Francis. In this issue of News from the UN we look at some ways in which we can be part of the solution, whether it be through influencing global policy change or implementing initiatives at the local level.

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News from the UN # 119

In his video message for Earth Day 2021 Pope Francis noted that nature teaches us interdependence as well as what we need to do to create “a fair, equitable, environmentally safe planet”. Noting that both global catastrophes, COVID and climate change, show that there is no time to lose, he made an appeal to world leaders “to act with courage, to act with justice and to always tell people the truth” so that people know how to “protect themselves from the destruction of the planet, and how to protect the planet from the destruction that we very often trigger”. In this issue of News from the UN we highlight recent UN sessions and related events that address our relationship to Mother Earth – our common home.

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News from the UN # 118

When the pandemic struck the world in March 2020 and COVID lockdowns were enforced around the world, the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 64) was the first official UN annual meeting to feel its impact. An inclusive 13 day conference was reduced to official, pro-forma opening and closing sessions with the cancellation of the intervening sessions, the commemoration of Beijing + 25 and the entire accompanying programme.

This year CSW 65 was held in a hybrid format from 15 – 26 March 2021, with limited, socially distanced participation of one delegate per member state at the opening and closing session. Almost all the remaining formal and informal sessions of the Commission meeting were held virtually, as were the negotiations that led to a final Agreed Conclusions, approved by consensus on the evening of 26 March, after several all-night sessions.

NGO CSW organized more than 700 Parallel events on a virtual platform with more than 25,000 people from more than 150 countries registered, participating in more than 16 time zones. Twenty six years after the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, it was evident that the ongoing struggle for Gender Equality was alive and well around the world!

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News from the UN # 117

“A Socially just transition towards sustainable development: the role of digital technologies on social development and the well-being of all” was the theme of the 2021 meeting of the United Nations Commission for Social Development held 8 – 17th February. Although the theme was chosen in February 2020, it could not have been more relevant, given the context of the global COVID pandemic a year later. All sessions except the opening and closing were held virtually. As was highlighted many times during the Commission, in a world where 3 billion people are not yet online, digital inclusion needs to be named and recognized as a human right. The digital cooperation roadmap launched by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in 2020 called for action to CONNECT, RESPECT, and PROTECT all people in the digital age and highlighted the goal of universal connectivity by 2030, by which time everyone should have safe and affordable access to the internet. The call to bridge the digital divide was recognized in the resolution approved by consensus at the end of the Commission meeting.

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News from the UN # 116

“No one is safe unless everyone is safe”. COVAX is one of three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator that was launched in April 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), together with the European Commission and France. COVAX, is a global initiative aimed to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level with a goal of securing access to 2 billion doses of safe and effective, approved vaccines during 2021. The first ones are expected in Africa by March. On January 15th, UN Secretary General called for more global solidarity and full funding for the COVAX initiative. “Vaccines are reaching high income countries quickly, while the world’s poorest have none at all,” he said, calling for greater global solidarity and warning about the dangers of “vacci-nationalism”.

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News from the UN # 115

12th December 2020 marked the 5th anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. To highlight the importance of the day, the UN partnered with France, UK (the COP 25 and COP26 Presidencies) to host the virtual 2020 Climate Ambition Summit. A total of 70 Heads of State and Government along with local government and major business leaders, made pledges, setting out stronger commitments under at least one of the three pillars of the Paris Agreement: mitigation, adaptation and finance. Some countries promised ambitious dates to reach net zero carbon emissions: e.g. Finland by 2035, Austria by 2040 and the Holy See by 2050 while Pakistan committed to no more new coal-fired plants. Financial commitments to assist in adaptation of poorer countries were generally lacking. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres challenged G20 leaders noting that their COVID recovery packages included spending 50% more on fossil fuel and CO2 intensive sectors than on low CO2 and renewable energy. “The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations. This is a moral test. We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet.”

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