Week in Review

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Weekly Wrap 2 October 2020 UN Photo/Mark Garten UN chief reiterates call for global ceasefire, marking International Day of Non-Violence The UN Secretary-General repeated his call for a global ceasefire on Friday, commemorating the International Day of Non Violence, which is taking place this year in the shadow of the devastating human and socio-economic impacts resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.  Peace and Security UN Photo/Milton Grant COVID-19 underscores need to deliver on promise of landmark women's rights conference Unless countries act now, the COVID-19 pandemic could erase recent "fragile progress" towards gender equality, the UN Secretary-General warned on Thursday, urging governments to put women at the centre of recovery and response.  Women Unsplash/Burgess Milner Guterres: Only way to remove nuclear risk, 'completely eliminate nuclear weapons' The elimination of nuclear weapons is vital to the "survival of life on this planet", the UN chief told the final major event of the General Assembly's high level week on Friday.   Peace and Security © UNHCR/Nicolo Filippo Rosso Top humanitarian award winner 'nothing short of heroic': UN refugee chief  An educator and rights defender who has spent more than 20 years rescuing exploited and trafficked children in Colombia, represents "the best of us", the UN refugee chief said on Thursday, as she was named the winner of this year's Nansen Refugee Award. Migrants and Refugees Unsplash/Marco Secchi LIVE: UN chief, Prince Charles, rally 'coalition of the willing' to end biodiversity destruction Here's our special LIVE coverage of the UN Summit on Biodiversity, where activists and senior UN officials are calling for urgent action on biodiversity, to help ensure sustainable development for all.   Climate Change Trust Fund for Victims Deterring 'atrocious crimes' contributes to development: International Criminal Court President Deterring genocides, armed conflicts and other atrocious crimes supports sustainable development says the President of the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) Chile Eboe-Osuji. Law and Crime Prevention University of Oxford/John Cairns Guterres urges more countries to step up and fund global COVID-19 vaccine effort The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday called for all nations to provide further urgently needed funds – the equivalent of the total spent on cigarettes worldwide every two weeks – on behalf of global COVID-19 vaccine efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere, gets protection from the virus.  Health UN Photo/Loey Felipe As historic virtual debate wraps, 'our political leaders demonstrated their commitment to multilateralism,' says UN Assembly President For the first time in the history of the United Nations, global leaders were not able to meet in person for the General Assembly's annual debate, but the 193-Member body's President said on Tuesday that the precautions forced by the COVID-19 pandemic "did not prevent multilateralism from operating at the highest levels." UN Affairs UNDP PAPP/Abed Zagout UN Middle East envoy urges sides to engage 'before it is too late' Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and their international partners, must urgently resume peace efforts "before it is too late", UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov told the Security Council on Tuesday, echoing the Secretary-General.  Peace and Security UN Photo/Martine Perret WHO, IOM and UNICEF promise investigation of sexual abuse allegations against workers in DR Congo The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, promised that any of its staff working as part of the agency's Ebola response team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) found to have been involved in sexual exploitation and abuse, would face "serious consequences, including instant dismissal." Law and Crime Prevention WFP/Hugh Rutherford Protect the world from sliding into global recession, urges UN chief The economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic "are as bad as we feared", the UN Secretary-General said, as he warned that the international community must act now if it is stave off a global recession, which could wipe out decades of development gains.  Economic Development FAO/G. Agostinucci Food loss and waste 'an ethical outrage', UN chief says on International Day New approaches and solutions are needed to address worsening food loss and waste, the UN Secretary-General has said, in a message marking the first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Reduction.  SDGs UN Photo/Mark Garten Nobel laureate Nadia Murad denounces lack of will to end sexual violence as a war tactic With one in three women around the world affected by gender-based violence – a crime that skyrockets more than 200 per cent in conflict settings – Nobel laureate Nadia Murad brought governments and UN leaders to task on Monday, for failing to provide the resources needed to create meaningful change for traumatized communities. Women © UNICEF/Vinay Panjwani Most countries failing to protect women from COVID-19 economic and social fallout The COVID-19 pandemic is "hitting women hard", but most nations are failing to provide sufficient social and economic protection for them, the head of the UN gender empowerment agency said on Monday. Women Coral Reef Image Bank/Hugh Whyte 'Instead of nationalism, we need global cooperation'; Caribbean leaders call for united front against COVID-19 pandemic Leaders from the Caribbean, in pre-recorded addresses to the UN General Assembly, stressed that their small economies are largely dependent on one or just a few industries, and called for strengthened global cooperation and financing mechanisms to overcome the health crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and recover from its massive socio-economic fallout.  UN Affairs IAEA/Dean Calma 'Reverse course' towards full nuclear disarmament – UN chief On the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons marked on Saturday, the UN chief has underscored the need to "reverse course and return to a common path to nuclear disarmament".   Peace and Security UNDP Tuvalu/Aurélia Rusek Pacific small islands and 'Big Ocean' nations at UN Assembly make the case for climate action, shift to clean energy Facing constant threats from climate change and wary of the possible spread of COVID-19 to their shores, Pacific Island leaders on Friday touted their own environmental action plans and called for more aggressive climate action from other nations, including rapid shifts toward clean energy.  UN Affairs UNAMID Progress on Sudan political transition, but challenges remain, Security Council hears Political developments in Sudan continue to move along a positive trajectory, while planning for a UN mission to assist the transitional government is progressing, the UN Security Council heard on Friday.  Peace and Security UNOCHA Sudan alert: Flooding and surging inflation threaten humanitarian assistance  Catastrophic flooding and rising food and health costs in Sudan, have driven up the number of people in need, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday.  Humanitarian Aid OCHA/Themba Linden Iraq urged to investigate attacks on women human rights defenders UN-appointed independent rights experts have urged the Iraqi authorities to investigate the murder of a female human rights defender, and the attempted killing of another, targeted "simply because they are women". Human Rights 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