Population

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the opening of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on Population and Development:

Highlighting progress in gender equality, life expectancy and access to reproductive and health services since the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, speakers renewed calls for greater efforts to uphold the rights of all to health, education and jobs, as the Commission on Population and Development opened its annual session today.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeess (UNHCR) today launched its Climate Resilience Fund, seeking to raise $100 million by 2025 to boost the protection of refugees and displaced communities who are most threatened by climate change.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Andrew Paul Saberton of the United Kingdom as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as Deputy Executive Director (Management) of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In Armenia, the UN, led by acting Resident Coordinator Natia Natsvlishvili, is boosting support to national authorities to address the needs of over 100,000 refugees, who recently arrived. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to distribute locally procured core relief items requested by local municipalities.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today that more than 11,600 children crossed the Central Mediterranean Sea to Italy without a parent or legal guardian. That’s between January and mid-September 2023. This is an increase of 60 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In order to overcome the interlinked crises that have hindered progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and have pushed the international community off track, long-term and forward-looking thinking and solutions are paramount and must be brought to the fore in all future initiatives, speakers stressed, as the High-Level Segment — held under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council — concluded its discussion today.

The United States has officially accepted the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Director General Audrey Azoulay said the United States’ return as a full member and the additional resources that come with that will help UNESCO provide better support worldwide.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Population Day, observed on 11 July:

In Sudan, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are increasing their response to the current crisis. With food insecurity expected to surge to record levels, affecting two fifths of the population, the World Food Programme plans to scale up emergency assistance to some 4.9 million people in the coming months.