Environmental issues and sustainable development

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the One Ocean Summit in Brest, France, today:

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.  Only one in three science and engineering researchers in the world is a woman.  In his message, the Secretary-General says that this inequality is depriving our world of enormous untapped talent and innovation.

In Ethiopia, fighting in the northern region of Afar continues to prevent the delivery of aid into neighbouring Tigray.  These clashes are also causing large-scale displacement and increasing humanitarian needs in Afar.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, on “Transforming Education to Transform Our World by 2030” at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland Carmichael Lecture, in Dublin today:

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following Tuesday’s attack in Ituri province, United Nations peacekeepers are patrolling the area with reinforced troops to provide security around the Savo displaced persons site and are facilitating medical supplies and evacuations to Bunia for wounded civilians.

At a meeting today on the Sahel region, the Emergency Relief Coordinator for the United Nations said that nearly 15 million people in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.  This is 4 million more than one year ago.

In Ethiopia, the United Nations and humanitarian partners have been forced to reduce aid distribution in Tigray as fuel supplies are blocked from entering the area.  Last week, food aid reached only 10,500 of the 800,000 people in need.  The humanitarian response is being scaled up in accessible areas in Amhara and Afar.

In Tonga, following the volcanic eruption, humanitarian colleagues report that over 80 per cent of the population have been impacted by the disaster, with three confirmed fatalities to date.  Relief efforts are scaling up, including by the United Nations Children’s Fund, but it is difficult to reach remote areas.

Briefing the Security Council today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the situation that now faces women human rights defenders, and prospects for women’s full participation in shaping and building peace, are vastly worse than they were before the pandemic got under way.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the “Governance for Sustainable Development” session, part of the high-level “A shared Sustainable Recovery Based on the SDGs” event in Dubai today: