Week in Review

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Weekly Wrap 25 September 2020 UN Photo/Manuel Elias LIVE: UN Climate Change Roundtable - a 'just transition' through climate action is key says Guterres Live coverage of the High-Level UN Climate Change Roundtable, featuring UN chief António Guterres, designed to rally momentum for more ambitious action to limit global warming and ensure sustainable post-pandemic recovery plans.    Highlights UN chief warns that 'the world has a fever and is burning up'  Watch the roundtable live on UN Web TV UK and UN to co-host December climate event.    Climate Change IMO UN and partners press for seafarers to be designated 'key workers' during COVID pandemic The UN Secretary-General has again appealed for governments to act on behalf of hundreds of thousands of seafarers and other maritime workers stuck at sea for endless months, in some cases more than a year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Economic Development UNICEF/Juan Haro International community must unite, or be crushed by chaos, warns UN chief The UN Secretary-General on Thursday made an unequivocal case for strengthening multilateralism and building trust among the countries of the world in the face of the devastating coronavirus pandemic, which has exposed gaps on multiple fronts.  Peace and Security UN Barbados and the OECS' One million people share hopes and fears for future with the UN The results are in from a massive, unprecedented crowd-sourcing survey of international opinion, launched in January 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. Participants from all walks of life, women, men, girls and boys in developed and developing countries were encouraged to share their hopes and fears for the future and how the UN can help to bring about change.  UN Affairs Kseniya Halubovich Belarus must release opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava, stress independent rights experts A group of UN independent human rights experts have called on Belarus to release prominent opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava, voicing serious concern over targeting and persecution of opposition politicians by the State.  Human Rights UN/file photo Updated influenza vaccine advice targets protection of elderly and health workers Amid a potential global shortage in influenza vaccines and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the UN health agency has advised countries to protect the elderly and health workers first. Health UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe UN chief and UK premier announce December climate summit With the COVID-19 pandemic having disrupted plans to hold the annual international UN climate meeting - known as the COP - this year, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have announced that they will instead co-host a "landmark global event" on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Climate Change © UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani Guterres advocates for digital world that 'strengthens human rights, advances peace' Amidst a technological era that "beckons with vast opportunity", new risks exist to global peace, stability and development, the UN chief told a side event of the General Assembly on Wednesday, aiming to help ensure access to digital technologies for all. Economic Development World Bank/Simone D. McCourtie Countries urged to act against COVID-19 'infodemic' The UN and partners have urged countries to take urgent action to address what they have described as the "infodemic" that has surfaced in tandem with the COVID-19 pandemic, both in the real world and online.  Health UN Photo/Manuel Elias Sign of the times: COVID-19 response and recovery must be accessible says Guterres This year's International Day of Sign Languages is being commemorated in the midst of a pandemic that has "disrupted and upended lives everywhere", including those of the deaf community, the UN chief said on Wednesday. Human Rights © UNICEF/Nyan Zay Htet Myanmar: Mounting child death toll during Rakhine village assaults must end, urges rights expert The assaults by security forces in Myanmar on villages in Rakhine state "need to stop", and a ceasefire should be declared immediately, said the UN independent rights expert on the situation across the country on Tuesday. Human Rights UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe UN chief appeals for global solidarity at General Assembly, warns COVID is 'dress rehearsal' for challenges ahead In his centerpiece address to the historic and unprecedented 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday appealed for global solidarity to overcome the COVID-19, and again call for a global ceasefire during the pandemic, by the end of the year.  UN Affairs UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Renew 'collective commitment to multilateralism', urges Assembly President The COVID-19 pandemic may have prevented world leaders coming to New York to address the General Assembly in person, but the president of the world body stressed on Tuesday that the need for deliberation, is "higher than ever". Human Rights University of Oxford/John Cairns Global solution to COVID-19 in sight, 'we sink or we swim together' – WHO chief COVID-19 is an "unprecedented global crisis that demands an unprecedented global response", the chief of the UN health agency said on Monday, unveiling a plan to have two billion doses of coronavirus vaccine available by the end of 2021.  Health Unsplash/Cole Keister Stand together and build a just world, UN chief says in message for International Day of Peace Even amid the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, people everywhere must continue to make peace a priority, the UN Secretary-General said on Monday.  Peace and Security © UNDP India LIVE: UN 'only as strong as its members' Guterres tells UN75 event, looking to the future On Monday the UN marks the 75 years of the Organization with a High-level meeting featuring many world leaders. The theme is, "The future we want, the United Nations we need", and there is a strong focus on the role of youth, and ensuring the UN remains relevant for future generations. Highlights:  •     Live broadcast of High-level meeting •    UNcomplicated podcast: the UN turns 75 •    UN75 photo story  •    Richard Curtis video, Nations United •   Lid Is On podcast, narrated by Julia Roberts •   W.H. Auden's "Hymn to the United Nations" UN Affairs © UNODC Fighting drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle: a UN Resident Coordinator blog Drug trafficking has long been a problem in the Golden Triangle, the region where Thailand's Chiang Rai province meets Myanmar and Laos. In this blog, Gita Sabharwal, UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, and Jeremy Douglas, who represents the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, explain how the United Nations and the Thai government are working together to tackle the issue. Law and Crime Prevention GLF Nairobi/Phil Sturgess Survival of wildlife reserves under threat in Namibia After six months of lockdown, the Namibian government ended travel restrictions and curfews on Friday, in light of a drop in new COVID-19 cases. But Namibia's economy, which depends heavily on wildlife tourism, has taken a major hit during the period, and the future of the country's wildlife reserves, otherwise known as conservancies, is far from certain. Economic Development Coronavirus Portal & News Updates Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here. For daily news updates from UN News, click here. unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences