Decade Ending 2019 Likely To Be Hottest On Record – More Climate Action Needed

Exceptional global heat driven by greenhouse gas emissions mean this decade will most likely go down as the warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) which released its provisional statement on the State of the Global Climate on Tuesday.

“If we do not take urgent climate action now, then we are heading for a temperature increase of more than 3°C by the end of the century, with ever more harmful impacts on human wellbeing”, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

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Signals Of Hope Multiplying In Face Of Global Climate Crisis Insists UN Chief Guterres

The UN Secretary-General has outlined the “increased ambition and commitment” that the world needs from governments during the coming days of the COP25 UN climate change conference which opens in Madrid on Monday, calling for “accountability, responsibility and leadership” to end the global climate crisis. More:

 

International Day Of Solidarity With the Palestinian People

The United Nations has underlined its unwavering commitment to the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle to achieve self-determination, independence and sovereignty.

Senior officials joined ambassadors and other representatives from the international community in New York on Wednesday to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, officially observed each year on 29 November.

Established in 1977, it marks the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State. More

World On Course For More Than 3 Degree Spike

Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the UN Environment Programme, released on Tuesday.

The annual Emissions Gap Report, which compares where greenhouse gas emissions are heading, versus where they need to be, shows that emissions need to fall by 7.6 per cent each year over the next decade, if the world is to get back on track towards the goal of limiting temperature rises to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius. More

A staggering one-in-three women experience physical, sexual abuse

Violence against women and girls is among the most widespread, and devastating human rights violations in the world, but much it is often unreported due to impunity, shame and gender inequality, the UN highlighted ahead of Monday’s World Day to stamp out abuse of women and girls. More 

‘Maximize the positive’ from new technologies, for our digital future, Guterres urges

Both positive and negative technological developments are jolting the world at “unprecedented speed”, the Secretary-General António Guterres told the first meeting of the Group of Friends on Digital Technologies in New York, on Thursday, underscoring the need to maximum use of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, cyber tools, blockchain and robotics, while mitigating risks. Read More

Young activists do the talking as UN marks World Children’s Day

Children were both seen and heard in the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, World Children’s Day, during a celebration to commemorate 30 years since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that protects the rights of Children. Goodwill Ambassador with the UN Children’s Fund Millie Bobby Brown said “young people don’t want to be talked about. We want to do the talking”. More

Brisbane To Host Major Asia/Pacific Ministerial Disaster Risk Reduction Conference in 2020

Next year for the first time the Asia Pacific’s major ministerial-level conference on disaster risk reduction will be held in the Pacific region in partnership with the Australia Government.

We asked the Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction,  Ms Mami Mizutori how the 2020 Asia-pacific ministerial conference on disaster risk reduction in Brisbane, will contribute to the much-needed acceleration towards risk informed development.

Pacific Measles Outbreak

MEDIA STATEMENT UNICEF Pacific

19 November, 2019

UNICEF is supporting the Government of Samoa to respond to a measles outbreak in the country. The Government of Samoa officially declared a state of emergency on 15 November 2019, four weeks into the continuing measles outbreak with more than 1000 suspected cases so far. The epidemic has claimed the lives of 14 children under-five years old and one adult.
Measles outbreaks were also declared in the Kingdom of Tonga on 24 October and in Fiji on 7 November. As of 5 November, 177 cases have been confirmed in Tonga with no deaths. In Fiji, the four confirmed and one suspected cases were contained in one specific area of Namosi and Serua Subdivision, west of the capital of Suva.

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