This year, as the United Nations commemorates its 70th anniversary, we can look back on major advances for humanity. The 2007 adoption by the General Assembly of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was one of many successes achieved through the fruitful partnership between indigenous peoples and United Nations Member States.

"Oceans are the point at which planet, people, and prosperity come together. And that is what sustainable development is about. It is about all of us as shareholders of Earth, incorporated, acknowledging and acting on our responsibility to the planet, to the people, and to its bloodstream, the oceans."

Elizabeth Thompson, Co-Executive Coordinator for the Rio+20 Conference, at Oceans Day at Rio+20, 16 June 2012

The forces allied to the two main parties to the conflict in South Sudan, President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, continue to inflict pain, suffering and despair on the South Sudanese people as a result of their  unwillingness to take the necessary steps to end the civil war.

Ambitious new agenda would end poverty by 2030 and universally promote economic prosperity, social development and environmental protection

WHO Russia has held a round table on Capacity building  for Injury Prevention in the Healthy Cities Association based on the TEACH-VIP course. The event brought together the best experts from Copenhagen, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vologda, Dimitrovgrad, Stupino, Stavropol and Ivanovo.

Christiana Figueres is Executive Secretary of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The year 2015 marks a defining moment in the global quest for a sustainable future for 7 billion people, rising to over 9 billion by 2050.

GENEVA, JULY 30, 2015 – Citing a new study, “Addressing Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Times of Crisis,” International Organization for Migration Director General William Lacy Swing called the exploitation and trafficking of victims, a growing phenomenon in a world awash in conflict and natural disasters.  

            Around the world, criminals are selling people for profit.  Vulnerable women and girls form the majority of human trafficking victims, including those driven into degrading sexual exploitation.

            The International Day of Friendship was initiated by an individual who had a simple but profound vision: that the forces of animosity and hatred in our world are no match for the power of the human spirit.

            I had the opportunity, earlier this year in Paraguay, to commend that pioneer, Dr. Ramón Bracho, for his conviction that just as friendship builds bridges between people, it can also inspire peace in our world.