Marking the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), Heads of States and Governments gathered in the General Assembly hall as part of UNGA76, to discuss reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent. “People of African descent, minority communities, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, displaced persons, and so many others – all continue to confront hatred, stigmatization, scapegoating, discrimination, and violence”, spelled out Secretary-General António Guterres. “Xenophobia, misogyny, hateful conspiracies, white supremacy and Neo-Nazi ideologies are spreading – amplified in echo chambers of hate”, he added. Unmistakable links From glaring infringements to creeping transgressions, human rights are under assault, said the UN chief. Structural racism and systematic injustice still deny people their fundamental human rights, and linkages between racism and gender inequality are unmistakable. Some of the worst impacts in the “overlaps and intersections of discrimination” are suffered by women. And the world is witnessing “a troubling rise” in antisemitism, growing anti-Muslim bigotry and the mistreatment of minority Christians, he pointed out. The Secretary-General urged everyone to condemn discrimination, hateful speech, and baseless assertions, as those pushing that ideology today, denigrate “our essential fight against racism”. New awakening Mr. Guterres highlighted a “transformative agenda” launched by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to try and dismantle systemic racism, ensure accountability and deliver reparatory justice. “This new awakening, often led by women and young people, has created momentum we must seize upon”, he said, also recognizing the “meaningful progress” made by the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent in confronting systemic racism. The UN chief called on Member States to “take concrete actions” to support these efforts on national and global levels to and to “recognize the contemporary resonance of past crimes that continue to haunt our present”, such as transgenerational suffering and structural inequalities “deeply rooted in centuries of enslavement and colonial exploitation”. “We must reverse the consequences of generations of exclusion and discrimination – including their obvious social and economic dimensions through reparatory justice frameworks”. Unite in ‘common humanity’ The UN chief urged everyone to “recognize diversity as richness” and understand that fighting racism is a universal and “concrete struggle in every society”. “No country can claim to be free from it”, he said, underscoring the need to redress political, economic and structural imbalances; ensure that everyone feels respected as a valued member of society; and “stand together as one human family, rich in diversity, equal in dignity and rights, united in solidarity”. At a time when the world feels more divided than ever, the Secretary-General encouraged everyone to “unite around our common humanity…and re-commit ourselves to this essential purpose”. Tackle racism General Assembly President, Abdulla Shahid, upheld that the world has not done enough to “tackle the pervasiveness” of racial discrimination, intolerance and xenophobia. “Racism begets violence, displacement, and inequity.  It lives on because we allow it to. It penetrates society because we fail to acknowledge diversity”, he said. The COVID-19 pandemic further exemplifies how far the world is from righting past wrongs. While acknowledging that pre-existing structural weaknesses were “a recipe for disaster” long before the coronavirus, he observed that throughout the pandemic, we see the marginalized and vulnerable “fall further behind”, with many “denied equal access to health, education, and security”. During this “turning point” in time, Mr. Shahid urged world leaders to “turn the tide on racism and intolerance” by recognizing these failings and seeking racial equality to “close that divide” and build resilience for those left behind. Living proof Marking DDPA's 20th anniversary, UN News shines a light on heroes working to reimagine equality and build a world beyond racism. Get inspired by the son of a Detroit barber who won the Nobel Peace Prize; an artist using her craft to push back against Anti-Asian hate; and a lawyer who made history as Brazil’s first indigenous congresswoman  ‘Turn the tide’ on intolerance He underscored the importance of acknowledging the past, saying, we “cannot move past what is not addressed”. “I encourage the international community, individuals, leaders, and stakeholders, to engage in deeper and honest dialogue to address this global issue”, he said. Make amends High Commissioner for Human Right Michele Bachelet said it was vital to address the lasting consequences of racism, as millions continue to bear its burden, past and present; the legacy of colonial exploitation; and the inhuman and criminal enslavement of Africans. Reparations must go “beyond symbolism” to include measures of restitution, rehabilitation and guarantees that it will never happen again, she said. And they will require “political, human and financial capital”, which, the UN rights chief added, “should be seen alongside the enrichment of many economies through enslavement and exploitation”. Moving anti-racism agenda forward Using the example of a poor migrant woman of African descent, Ms. Bachelet highlighted the “multiple and intersectional manifestations” of racial discrimination. She underscored that tackling this plague requires a comprehensive approach with “concrete strategies and actionable, time-bound targets” that are integrated into laws and policies. While OHCHR will continue to support actions, she stressed that the anti-discrimination agenda belongs to everyone, irrespective of race, colour, national origin or religious affiliation. “Racial justice can be achieved, for people of African descent and all others suffering racial discrimination”, assured the human right chief. Slavery, crime against humanity South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a pre-recorded video statement affirming that the Declaration and resulting action, embodies the commitments of the international community to address both the legacy of the past and contemporary forms of racism, and acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade are crimes against humanity. At the meeting, Member States also adopted a resolution to mobilize political will at national, regional and international levels to fully implement the milestone Declaration. Story was originally posted on UN News  

Join the Keeping the Promise campaign, and help inspire everyone, everywhere to support the Sustainable Development Goals – the world’s to-do list to ensure a safer, healthier and a more sustainable future for all.  With nine years left to meet the SDGs deadline, the campaign is an opportunity to take action and demand accountability from global leaders who adopted the Goals in 2015.   Choose from 11 promises - inspired by the Goals – in the form of a frame. Select the promise you want to keep, add your photo, and share the image on your social accounts, encouraging others to do the same! The promises range from calling out racism & hate speech to volunteering in your community to showing solidarity & kindness to people in need. They are all at the heart of the work that we do every day as part of the United Nations community.  Let’s be the change that we want to see in this world.   To join, follow these easy steps:  1.     Go to https://bit.ly/Keeping-The-Promise and choose your promise.   2.     Add your photo to the frame and upload it.   3.     Share the framed photo on your social channels and encourage your friends to do the same! Suggested social media post:    I promise to (insert your promise here). Join me and make your promise to help achieve the #GlobalGoals and create a better world for everyone! https://bit.ly/Keeping-The-Promise    

The world “is challenged like never before”, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, but the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) still offer a roadmap to get back on track.   “It would be easy to lose hope. But we are not hopeless. Or helpless. We have a path to recovery. If we choose to take it,” he said. Mr. Guterres was speaking at the SDG Moment – a major event marking the start of the General Assembly High Level Week -  joined by more than 30 Heads of State, a debate led by top UN officials on COVID-19 and a performance by K-pop sensation BTS, headlined also by the President of the Republic of Korea.  Also, today, for the first time in history, people worldwide can take action by donating to the SDGs.  For the UN chief, this SDG Moment is all about “coming together to save our planet and each other.”  Five areas of action  Earlier this month, Mr. Guterres launched “Our Common Agenda”, a plan to strengthen and revitalize the whole multilateral system and rally the world around common objectives.  In the document, the Secretary-General points to five areas for urgent action.  First, the world needs to end the pandemic. Noting the response “has been too slow and too unequal”, Mr. Guterres called on the world to mobilize behind a global vaccination plan that doubles production, to reach 70 per cent of the world’s population by the middle of next year.  Second, he highlighted the need for a sustainable and equitable recovery for all, so that the world stays on track to end poverty by 2030.   For him, that means bold investments in systems that support human development, but also “putting people above profits, including through progressive taxation, and ending tax evasion, money laundering, and illicit financial flows.”  Thirdly, he then pointed to equal rights for women and girls, saying none of the SDGs can be achieved without gender equality.  “We need bold investments to make sure every girl has a seat in the classroom and the skills she needs to chart her own future”, he said in the wake of the reopening of high schools in Afghanistan at the weekend, without the Taliban allowing girls to return to study.  “We need to dismantle the power structures that allow discrimination, violence and economic hardship to keep one half of humanity down. And we need to make sure that girls and women have a seat at every table,” he said.  Another priority is to end the war against the planet, by committing to net zero emissions by 2050. Mr. Guterres also asked Member States to shelve plans for any new coal-fired power plants after 2021, and mobilize $100 billion a year for climate action.  Lastly, he stressed the importance of an equitable global recovery, asking people everywhere to work with their governments to put people first in their budgets and recovery plans.  “My friends, the pathway is there. The choice is ours. Let’s move forward with hope and conviction,” he concluded.   Recovery and new challenges Speaking at the event, the new president of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, said that “going forward, the gaps in political will and resource commitment, remain a common fault line”, hampering progress towards reaching the SDGs.  “This must change. Let the setback that the world has seen, strengthen our resolve and reinforce our determination to recover from the pandemic and to build the SDGs. Together it is possible," he said.   Shot in the arm from BTS  One of the members of superstar band BTS, V, said that he had also “felt bewildered and troubled” by the setbacks of the past 18 months, but said now was “an ideal time of our lives to take on new challenges.” “What is important are the choices we make when we are faced with change right? Some of you heard the news that we were coming to the UN and a lot of you were wondering whether we were vaccinated. And yes, all seven of us, of course, we received COVID-19 vaccination,” J Hope added. BTS focused in how their generation felt lost last year during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when graduations and other important events were cancelled. But they sent a message of encouragement to all people around the world. "I hope we just don't consider the future as grim darkness. We have people concerned for the world and searching for answers. There are still many pages left in the story about us and I feel like we shouldn't talk like the ending has already been written", said Junkook. They challenged the thought of their generation being “the covid lost generation” saying that it was “a stretch”. "In these pictures, you can see there are kids that are trying to learn new things...They are not lost, they are finding new courage and taking on new challenges", said Jin. "Instead of the lost generation, a more appropriate name would be the ‘welcome’ generation because instead of fearing change, this generation says "welcome" and keeps pushing ahead", explained Suga. More to come  Heading up the 76th General Assembly’s High-Level Week, the SDG Moment is held in advance of major meetings on food systems, climate, energy, jobs and social protection.  The SDG event is designed to build the momentum needed to deliver on the Decade of Action and Keep the Promise of the SDGs. With just nine years left to achieve the SDGs—the time has come to deliver on the world's promise. This week also introduces a new way for people across the world to act now by donating to the Joint SDG Fund. Donations to the Joint SDG Fund will help fund SDG-targeted programmes, partnerships and solutions that help build a brighter future for people across 162 countries and territories worldwide.  Besides world leaders, leaders from business, civil society, local authorities, the SDG Advocates and the UN, highlighted the need to scale up solutions.  For the UN, to get the SDGs back on track and prevent the worst impacts of climate change, a profound shift in economies and societies everywhere, is now needed.   In the last 18 months, COVID-19 has disrupted economies and livelihoods, deepened inequalities and risks sending more than 70 million people into extreme poverty.   In the same period, progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been too slow and biodiversity loss has continued at an extraordinary pace. This is compounded by a deeply uneven global response to the pandemic with the world’s poorest countries and people suffering the most.  Recognizing this urgency, the UN launched a new campaign last week, “Keeping the Promise”. The digital campaign calls on people around the world to make a promise to take action for a better future for all.  Users are being asked to choose from 11 promises inspired by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the world’s to-do list to protect the planet and all its people. 
  Story was originally posted on UN News. For more information on the Sustainable Development Goals, please visit the SDG Moment 2021. 

The 76th session of the UN General Assembly is due to begin on 14 September, and it will be very different from 2020’s fully virtual gathering. UNGA 76 will still be overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that won’t stop leaders (some of them in the Assembly Hall) from addressing urgent global challenges. 1) To be or not to be (at the GA in person) The format of this year’s UN General Assembly session (UNGA 76) is a reflection of the current state of the world: a gradual return to in-person meetings, with plenty of delegates staying online, but also a desire to return to some version of normality, leavened by a recognition that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Following last year’s virtual UNGA, some Heads of State will be coming to UN Headquarters in New York to deliver their set-piece General Debate speeches at the podium, whilst the majority stay at home to deliver their messages via video.  One of the most valuable aspects of UNGA for Heads of State and other senior government officials, is the chance to have informal, one-on-one meetings with their counterparts, away from prying eyes. This opportunity was sorely missed last year, and private “bilateral booths” have been set up. 
While it is still unclear which government leaders will turn up in person you can, of course, follow our coverage of the debate on the main UN News website, and watch the proceedings live as ever, on UN Web TV. 2 A K-Pop moment, and a vaccine booster On the subject of COVID-19 vaccinations, the mantra of the World Health Organization (WHO) has been “no-one’s safe until everyone’s safe”: in other words, richer countries, which are making great strides in inoculating the majority of their citizens, need to ensure that the populations of poorer countries are also protected.  However, this is clearly not happening, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO. On 20 September, as part of the “SDG Moment” of the Decade of Action (the UN’s push to deliver sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges), he will discuss the current state of the global roll-out of vaccinations, with Achim Steiner, the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and Vera Songwe, who runs the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).  Will BTS break the internet? Again? The all-day event will also feature a performance by Korean superstars, and friends of the UN, BTS.
The seven-piece K-Pop group has been partnering with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) since 2017 on the Love Myself campaign to end bullying, and promote self-esteem. The I.T. team at the UN will doubtless be on tenterhooks as 20 September approaches, mindful of the huge internet traffic BTS attracted during their previous visit to the General Assembly in 2018, and when their video message was released at last year’s virtual GA - both of which left the system struggling to cope. 3) Hungry for change: cooking up new food systems The last year has seen a fresh impetus at the UN on the need to overhaul food systems, defined as everything involved in getting healthy and nutritious meals, from crops to meat, onto our plates. This new push was instigated by the decision of UN chief António Guterres to create the first UN Food Systems Summit, which takes place on 23 September.  Several experts have warned that the current global food system is actively harmful to the planet and global population. Announcing the summit, Mr. Guterres said that food systems are “one of the main reasons we are failing to stay within our planet’s ecological boundaries”. Food systems emit around a third of global greenhouse gases; cause deforestation and cause around 80 per cent of biodiversity loss. On top of the environmental destruction, shockingly, around a third of all food produced each year is lost or wasted. 
The aim of the summit is to develop strategies to combat global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality; and create new food systems that benefit all people and protect the planet.  4) Weathering the ‘threat multiplier’ storm: climate and security The climate crisis is now recognized as an issue that is not just an environmental problem, but an existential crisis that affects us all: the UN has described climate change as a “threat multiplier”, which is adding stress to the economic, social, and political systems of every country. For example, drought in the Sahel region of North Africa is a contributing factor in conflict, displacing populations facing hunger and limited livelihood prospects.
Studies have linked climate change to the Sudanese civil war, as well as more recent events such as the war in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, and the growth of armed conflict in the Lake Chad basin, a water source shared by several countries, which has shrunk by some 90 per cent since 1960. UN News will report on a special Security Council debate on climate and security, due to take place on 23 September. 5) A net zero sum game: clean, reliable energy   Questions surrounding energy are at the heart of efforts to tackle the climate crisis, so it may be surprising that the last global gathering on energy held under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, took place 40 years ago. So, it’s high time for a new one, The UN High-level Dialogue on Energy on 24 September. It’s taking place in a world that views the use of fossil fuels and renewable energy, very differently than it did in the 1980s. Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN’s blueprint for a cleaner, fairer future. Another challenge due to be discussed at the event will be how to bring harmful greenhouse gas emissions, the drivers of climate change, down to net zero by 2050.  It’s a big task, requiring ambitious actions starting right now. This is why nations, regions, businesses, NGOs and others will be asked to present “Energy Compacts”, setting out voluntary commitments and concrete plans explaining how they’re going to make it happen. Look out for a LIVE UN News blog of the event, taking in contributions from activists, senior officials, and leaders. UN WebTV [ http://webtv.un.org/] Facebook [@UNwebTV] Twitter [@UNwebTV] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/UNITEDNATIONS]