ABOUT

Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein is known for her commitment to humanitarian causes. In her role as a Messenger of Peace, she is dedicated to helping raise global awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Goals #2 on Zero Hunger and #1 on No Poverty.

Princess Haya founded Tikyet Um Ali (TUA) in her native Jordan, the first Arab NGO dedicated to overcoming local hunger. Towards its aim of eradicating hunger in Jordan, TUA launched the second phase of its Eradicating Extreme Poverty Project in 2017 to provide food assistance and employment opportunities to poor families.

During Princess Haya’s tenure as Chair of Dubai's International Humanitarian City (IHC), it grew to become the world's largest and busiest logistics hub for humanitarian aid. Housing 9 United Nations agencies and 89 NGOs and commercial entities, the IHC facilitates and coordinates collective action with all members for an efficient emergency response to a growing number of crises across the world. It provides selected airlifts free of charge to transport aid and evacuate staff members from danger zones. Dispatches of aid under HRH Princess Haya’s watch included airlifts to Bangladesh (Rohingya crisis), sea shipments to Iraq, Niger, Cameroon, Algeria, Tunisia and Mozambique, and airlifts to Uganda (South Sudan conflict).

Focus Area: Hunger and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Ending poverty and hunger is still among the greatest global challenges facing the world. Major progress has been made – extreme poverty rates have been cut by more than half since 1990. However, 767 million people still live below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day. One in nine people in the world (815 million) are still undernourished. One in four of the world’s children under the age of five suffer stunted growth, and 66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone.

In September 2015, at a historic UN Summit, world leaders from 193 countries adopted the 17 SDGs intended to mobilize efforts to eradicate all forms of poverty and hunger, to fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. Goal #1 aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, while Goal #2 focuses on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Zero Hunger - Goal 2
• World Food Programme (WFP)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

About

Daniel Barenboim is an acclaimed conductor and pianist who gave his international debut performance as a solo pianist at age ten. Since then he has worked with orchestras all over the world. He is particularly well known as the Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held from 1991 until June 2006.

In 1999, he co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which brings together young musicians from Israel and the Arab countries to promote dialogue and unity of purpose between the various cultures of the Middle East. This orchestra performed a ground-breaking concert in Ramallah in 2005, and played at the United Nations and Carnegie Hall in New York in 2006. Recently, Mr. Barenboim has initiated a project for music education in the Palestinian territories, including the foundation of a music kindergarten and a Palestinian youth orchestra.

Focus Area: Peace and Tolerance

Dialogue and tolerance are vital to maintaining world peace and unity. In 2005, the United Nations launched the Alliance of Civilizations initiative to advance mutual respect for religious beliefs and traditions. The Alliance represents a committed international effort to bridge divides and overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions and polarization. Culture also plays an important role in conflict or post-conflict situations as a vehicle for reconciliation through cultural heritage. Throughout history, peoples have exchanged cultural experience, ideas, value and good through art, trade and migrations. UN programmes have been established to encourage intercultural cooperation and dialogue among especially those countries which are in a period of transition or post-conflict situation with a view to strengthening social cohesion, solidarity and peace in the region.

Resources

• UN Alliance of Civilizations
• UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA)
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

About

A political activist since his youth, Brazilian author Paul Coelho’s best-selling books, such as The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage, enchant readers from around the world. He has won numerous international awards for his works, which have been translated into more than 65 languages.

Through the Paulo Coelho Institute, the Rio de Janeiro native uses his global appeal to combat poverty and help underprivileged members of Brazilian society. He is also an advocate of multiculturalism through his work with UNESCO as a Special Counselor for Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences.

Since 2009 he has been part of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s “Network of Men Leaders”, a group of influential men who work in their spheres of influence to undertake specific actions to end violence against women. The Network is part of the “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” campaign. In his capacity as a Messenger of Peace, he is also committed to focusing global attention on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Poverty and Intercultural Dialogue

Dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values, can create the conditions to achieve peace and alleviate poverty. Poverty entails more than the lack of income and productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision-making. The efforts to eradicate poverty require intercultural dialogue to create flexibility, understanding and the willingness to assist and cooperate with one another.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
• UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Ending Violence Against Women (UNWOMEN)

About

Leonardo DiCaprio, an Academy Award®-winning actor, has been an outspoken advocate for environmental issues throughout much of his career. In 1998, at the age of 24, Mr. DiCaprio established his foundation with the mission of protecting the Earth’s last wild places and implementing solutions to build a more harmonious relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through grantmaking, public campaigns, and media projects, Mr. DiCaprio has worked to bring attention and funding to the protection of biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation, and climate change.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation supports over 35 innovative conservation projects around the world that protect fragile ecosystems and key species.

Mr. DiCaprio also serves on the board of several environmental protection organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Pristine Seas and Oceans 5. He is also an advisor on The Solutions Project, an organization dedicated to scaling up the adoption of clean, renewable energy. In 2014, DiCaprio was honored with the prestigious Clinton Global Citizen Award for his philanthropic work.

The Secretary-General designated Mr. DiCaprio as a Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change ahead of the 2014 Climate Summit, aimed at catalyzing and galvanizing climate action towards a global climate agreement in 2015.

Focus Area: Climate Change

Climate change is a critical global challenge with long-term implications for the sustainable development of all countries. On 31 March 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report saying the effects of climate change have already affected agriculture, human health, and ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies and people’s livelihoods. The United Nations family has continuously taken the lead in taking on climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , Kyoto Protocol or the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, are at the forefront of the effort to save our planet.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Climate Action - Goal 13
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Climate Change

About

Academy Award-winning actor and producer Michael Douglas is fiercely committed to disarmament issues, including nuclear non-proliferation and halting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. He focuses public awareness on the United Nations’ efforts to strengthen peace and security by speaking publicly for greater controls on the illegal possession and circulation of small arms and light weapons. In his capacity as a Messenger of Peace, Mr. Douglas hosted a documentary filmed in Sierra Leone that was part of a United Nations/Showtime ten-part series titled “What’s Going On?” that helped bring attention to the plight of child soldiers.

Disarmament

Since the birth of the United Nations, the goals of multilateral disarmament and arms limitation have been deemed central to the maintenance of international peace and security. These goals range from eliminating nuclear weapons, destroying chemical weapons and strengthening the prohibition against biological weapons, to halting the proliferation of landmines, cluster munitions, small arms and light weapons. The need for a culture of peace and for significant arms reduction worldwide has never been greater. Despite a decline in the number of conflicts and genocides in recent years, in 2014, the world’s Governments spent an estimated US$ 1.77 trillion on military expenditures. This figure amounts to $249 for each person in the world. For many of the world’s poor people, war and criminal violence are directly impeding their chances of development. Women and children are increasingly becoming casualties of war. More than 250,000 children have been exploited as soldiers and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped in conflict situations.

Resources

• United Nations Office of Disarmament (ODA)
• Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
• Children and Armed Conflict

*Please note, the video below is not a United Nations production. We are sharing it here as it features a compelling conversation between a UN Messenger of Peace, Michael Douglas, and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Ishmael Beah, about their advocacy work on behalf of the United Nations and on some of the key challenges facing the world today.

About

Jane Goodall is a pioneer in the study of chimpanzees. The Jane Goodall Institute is widely recognized for creating innovative conservation and development programmes in Africa, where she began her landmark studies in 1960. Her global Roots & Shoots programme supports tens of thousands of young people in nearly 100 countries with projects that help people, animals and the environment. As a Messenger of Peace since 2002, she continues to help the United Nations focus attention on environmental issues.

Focus Area: Conservation

Scientific evidence shows that ecosystems are under unprecedented pressure, threatening prospects for sustainable development. The Earth''s biological resources are vital to humanity''s economic and social development. Yet, the effect of human activities - magnified in recent years by population growth and global climate change - has greatly reduced biodiversity in ecosystems around the world.
The entire United Nations system is engaged in environmental protection in diverse ways. Addressing climate change, protecting the atmosphere, improving the sustainable use of energy, combating deforestation, soil loss and desertification, preventing air and water pollution, halting the depletion of fish stocks and promoting the safe management of toxic wastes are some of the many environmental issues the UN is dealing with.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Climate Action - Goal 13
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Climate Change
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
• UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative

About

One of the most exciting and accomplished classical musicians of our time, Lang Lang began playing the piano at the age of three. He has since then performed for world leaders and worked with the world''s best orchestras and maestros, and has used his art and his ability to inspire audiences around the world to help improve the lives of children everywhere.

In October 2008, he launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation with a mission to encourage music performance at all levels as a means of social development for youth. The Foundation operates with the conviction that music, as a universal language, can help bridge cultural gaps and unite communities.

Lang Lang has been recognized for his commitment to mobilizing support for improving the lives of children around the world, most notably as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for close to a decade. As a Messenger of Peace, he helps raise awareness of the Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative, in particular fostering global citizenship.

Focus Area: Global Education

Education is a basic human right, not a privilege of the few. It helps pave the way to successful and sustainable livelihoods, benefitting both individuals and societies. Thanks to member states’ commitments to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), great strides have been made in education in recent years. However, over 60 million primary school age children in the world remain out of school.

Recognizing that we must do more and place education at the heart of our social, political and development agendas, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Global Education First Initiative in 2012, with three goals: 1) Putting every child in school, 2) Improving the quality of learning, and 3) Fostering global citizenship.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Quality Education - Goal 4

About

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma is expanding his efforts to expose young audiences to music and promote the work of the United Nations among young people. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in the United States, Mr. Ma is the recipient of countless honours and awards. Believing that music can act as a magnet to draw people together, he created the Silk Road Project in 1998 to promote the study of cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient Silk Road trade route, which sweeps through cultures from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In 2007, he contributed music for a DVD produced in support of the Stop TB Partnership Campaign with the World Health Organization.

Focus Area: Youth

Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 represent approximately 18% of the global population, or nearly 1.2 billion people.
Young people are effective agents of change. They contribute to development by addressing society’s most challenging issues, such as combating poverty and hunger in their communities, stemming the HIV/AIDS pandemic through peer education and championing the protection of the environment.

Resources

• Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth
• UNICEF's Voices of Youth
• International Year of Youth

About

Since her solo debut at age 11, violinist Midori has established a record of achievement which sets her apart as a master musician, an innovator, and a champion of the developmental potential of children. In 1992, Midori founded Midori & Friends, a non-profit organization that brings music education programmes to thousands of underprivileged children each year. Two other organizations, Music Sharing (based in Japan) and Partners in Performance (based in the US), also bring music into the lives of people who may not otherwise have involvement with the arts.

As a Messenger of Peace, Midori continues to inspire young people through music education to build a sense of community and learn from each other.

Focus Area: Youth and the Sustainable Development Goals

Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 represent approximately 18% of the global population, or nearly 1.2 billion people. Many youth remain marginalized from social and economic opportunities, with limited access to essential resources. 87% of the youth population live in developing countries, and nearly 45% of all youth globally live on less than 2 dollars a day. Youth are among the most vulnerable of all persons the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to reach. Whether it is poverty, hunger, lack of education, maternal mortality, unemployment, environmental degradation or HIV/AIDS, the impact on young people can be far greater than on their older counterparts. Therefore, young people’s participation and inclusion in efforts to achieve all of the goals are crucial to ensure a successful and sustainable outcome.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth
• UNICEF’s Voices of Youth
• International Year of Youth

About

Acclaimed actor and two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton is the first Goodwill Ambassador to be appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General. As a Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, Mr. Norton works closely with the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to help spotlight the importance of biodiversity to human well-being and to ensure world leaders take appropriate measures to protect the environment.

Mr. Norton is a committed social and environmental activist. He is the President of the Board of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, a community conservation organization that partners with traditional communities in East Africa to conserve key ecosystems by developing sustainable, natural resource-based economic revenues. Mr. Norton also serves on the Board of Trustees of Enterprise, which works to move families up and out of poverty and transform low-income communities across the US through the development of decent affordable housing and social service networks.

Focus Area: Biodiversity

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is seen in all forms of life, habitats and ecosystems (tropical forests, oceans and seas, savannah ecosystems, wetlands, drylands, mountains, etc.). The Earth''s biological resources are vital to humanity''s economic and social development. Yet, the effect of human activities - magnified in recent years by population growth and global climate change - has greatly reduced biodiversity in ecosystems around the world. Species have been disappearing at 50-100 times the natural rate, and this is predicted to rise dramatically. Based on current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species face extinction.
The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Earth Summit) led to the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity which obligates states to conserve biodiversity, ensure its sustainable development and provide for the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.
2011-2020 was declared to be the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Life on Land - Goal 15
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Life Below Water - Goal 14
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Climate Action - Goal 13
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

About

As a Messenger of Peace, Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron focuses on the prevention of HIV and the elimination of violence against women. She founded The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) in 2007 with the mission to help African youth keep themselves safe from HIV. The Project supports community engaged organizations that use innovative and community specific programming to work with youth between the ages of 10-20 years old, bringing critical resources like access to youth friendly healthcare, sexual and reproductive health education, life skills, and psychosocial support – all of which empower young people to keep themselves and their peers HIV free.

Ms. Theron also filmed a series of public service announcements in support of the Cape Town Rape Crisis Center, urging zero tolerance for rape or domestic violence. Ms. Theron travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009 and 2011 to help raise awareness about the plight of women and girls victims of sexual violence.

Focus Area: Prevention of HIV

Combating HIV/AIDS is one of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. Goal 6 aims to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. The spread of HIV has stabilized in most regions and more people are surviving longer. The number of people newly infected by HIV in 2010 was 2.7 million people, 390,000 of whom were children. At the end of 2010, an estimated 34 million were living with HIV, up 17 per cent from 2001. This persistent increase reflects the continued large number of new infections along with a significant expansion of access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy, especially in more recent years. Mounting evidence shows a link between gender-based violence and HIV.

Elimination of violence against women

The United Nations continues to give particular attention to the issue of violence against women, including in armed conflict and through trafficking. This fundamental violation of women’s rights remains widespread, affecting all countries.
The Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls by engaging individuals, civil society and governments.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed annually on 25 November.

Resources

• Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
• Children and HIV/AIDS
• Women and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Gender Equality - Goal 5
• United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict
• Ending Violence Against Women (UNWOMEN)

About

Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder’s long career has reflected his concern with humanitarian issues. A Grammy Award-winner, he has written, produced or performed songs for charities in support of disabilities, AIDS, cancer, diabetes, hunger and homelessness, domestic abuse and other causes on behalf of children and adults.

His activism has been pivotal in U.S. and world events. In 1983, he spearheaded a campaign to make Martin Luther King Day a national holiday in the United States. He also advocated for the end of apartheid in South Africa.

He has been recognized for his philanthropic efforts by the U.S. President''s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, Junior Blind of America, and the creation of the Wonder Vision Awards Program.

He was designated as a Messenger of Peace in 2009 with a focus on persons with disabilities. He has advocated for the adoption of the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or have other print disabilities.

Focus Area: Persons with Disabilities

Approximately 15% of the world’s population, of which some 80% live in developing world, have some type of physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment. Persons with disabilities are often excluded from the mainstream of society. Discrimination takes various forms, ranging from the denial of education or work opportunities to more subtle forms, such as segregation and isolation through the imposition of physical and social barriers. Changing the perception and concept of disability requires changing values and increasing understanding at all levels of society.
Since its inception, the United Nations has worked to establish the standards for equal treatment and equal access to services. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted in 2006 sets out international human rights standards for all persons with disabilities in the world.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Disability
• Human Rights and Disability
• International Labour Organization (ILO): Disability and Decent Work
• UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): Inclusive Education
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities – 3 December
• Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) - Disability

About

Malala Yousafzai became an international symbol of the fight for girls’ education after she was shot in 2012 for opposing Taliban restrictions on female education in her home country of Pakistan. In 2009, Malala had begun writing a blog under a pseudonym about the increasing military activity in her home town and about fears that her school would be attacked. After her identity was revealed, Malala and her father Ziauddin continued to speak out for the right to education.

The Taliban’s attack on Malala on 9 October 2012 as she was returning home from school with her friends received worldwide condemnation. In Pakistan, over 2 million people signed a right to education petition, and the National Assembly ratified Pakistan's first Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill.

In 2013, Malala and her father co-founded the Malala Fund to bring awareness to the social and economic impact of girls' education and to empower girls to demand change. In December 2014, she became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Secretary-General António Guterres designated Malala as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2017 to help raise awareness of the importance of girl’s education.

FOCUS AREA: GIRLS’ EDUCATION

Quality education is the foundation for improving people’s lives and for sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools, particularly for women and girls. The world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys. However, few countries have achieved that target at all levels of education. Moreover, 57 million children still remain out of school. Bolder efforts are needed to achieve universal education goals. In September 2015, at an historic UN Summit, world leaders adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals intended to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change. Goal 4 is aimed at ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning. The targets for Goal 4 include eliminating gender disparities in education by 2030.

Resources

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Quality Education - Goal 4
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Gender Equality - Goal 5
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)