Sustainable Development Goals

Speaking at a conference on addressing development challenges of middle-income countries (MICs), in Rabat, Morocco, Amina Mohammed said recent crises have laid bare inequalities and exposed stark contrasts. “While developed countries have been able to protect and swiftly support their populations, other countries have been left dependent on the international community and the existing global support systems.” She said existing frameworks fall short in meeting the complex needs of...

“The agency will no longer have funding as of the end of February, so that means our operations would come to a halt during March,” said Dorothee Klaus, UNRWA Director in Lebanon, describing the “severe impact” of fresh budget cuts. The funding crisis stemmed from Israel’s allegations that a dozen agency staff were involved in the 7 October attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 taken hostage, events that triggered the ongoing devastating war in Gaza. Several major donors, the...

Lenovo Group, LG AI Research, Mastercard, Microsoft, Salesforce, Telefonica, GSMA network of mobile phone operators, and INNIT have pledged to “integrate the values and principles” of UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI when designing and deploying AI systems. The announcement came at the UN education, science and culture agency’s Global Forum on AI, taking place in Slovenia on Monday and Tuesday. UNESCO forged a consensus between all its member States in November 2021 to adopt...

Global perspective Human stories UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and Brazilian footballer Vinícius Junior, newly-appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Education for All during a ceremony at the Real Madrid training centre. During her visit, the UN education, science and culture body UNESCO‘s Director-General Audrey Azoulay presented the 23-year-old winger with a letter of appointment, acknowledging his exceptional achievements on the pitch and his unwavering commitment to...

31 January 2024Migrants and Refugees Yul Brynner was a charismatic and engaging star of stage and screen, and in 1959, the United Nations asked him to lend his talents to support efforts to aid the world’s refugees. The Russian-born actor, filmmaker and photographer was appointed a special consultant to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in connection with World Refugee Year. Ahead of the International Human Fraternity Day, marked annually on 4...

1 February 2024Migrants and Refugees Yul Brynner was a charismatic and engaging star of stage and screen, and in 1959, the United Nations asked him to lend his talents to support efforts to aid the world’s refugees. The Russian-born actor, filmmaker and photographer was appointed a special consultant to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in connection with World Refugee Year. Ahead of the International Human Fraternity Day, marked annually on 4...

IOM underscored the need for regular migration pathways at a one-day summit in Rome hosted by Italy to boost development in Africa and curb migration flows. The A Bridge for Common Life conference represented a critical opportunity to examine “unified and sustainable mechanisms to stop further needless loss of human life on treacherous routes,” said Amy Pope, the agency’s Director General, who was at the summit. ‘A stark reminder’ “Even one death is one too many,” she added, calling the...

Since 7 October when Israel launched its military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the militant group’s terror attacks in southern Israel that left some 1,200 dead and more than 250 taken hostage, Gaza health authorities have reported at least 25,700 killed and some 63,740 injured. In its case, which began earlier this month in the Hague, South Africa asked the Court – a principal organ of the UN – to indicate provisional measures in order to “protect against further severe and...

25 January 2024Culture and Education Shakira has long helped raise awareness for the rights of the world’s most vulnerable children, so on the heels of the International Day of Education, marked annually on 24 January, we took a look at the Grammy-award winning singer’s work with the UN. The youngest ever Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2003, Shakira Mebarak has since been actively engaged in promoting early childhood education and development. In 2015, when...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was addressing the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board when he said that “several outstanding issues” still needed to be resolved by governments and that time was “very short” to find consensus. “A failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the International Health Regulations amendments will be a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us,” Tedros said. Legally binding The WHO chief’s warning follows agreement by Member...