The transformative impact of a gold and diamond exchange in The Bahamas
Opportunity for Gold and Diamond Exchange for The Bahamas
Opportunity for Gold and Diamond Exchange for The Bahamas
A powerful video was shown echoing the theme, awaken new depths, warning of immediate protection needs and cautioning that there is no time for an “out of sight out of mind” sense of complacency.
In a statement marking the Day – which falls officially on Saturday - UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the ocean sustains life on Earth and the problems are essentially man-made.
“Climate change is triggering rising seas and threatening the very existence of small island developing states and coastal populations”, he said.
Mr. Guterres also mentioned that ocean acidification is destroying coral reefs, with sea temperatures reaching record levels leading to extreme weather events. Overfishing and other factors are contributing to the destruction of the world’s marine ecosystems.
The President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, attended the event and voiced similar concerns about the current state of the ocean.
“There is so much still to learn about oceans – and, importantly, to reverse the damage being caused to our precious lifeline resource.”
Mr. Francis said that the ocean is our strongest ally against climate change and therefore “it is our joint responsibility to course correct – and recommit to sustainably manage the ocean’s precious resources - so as to ensure their availability intergenerationally.”
The Secretary-General and General Assembly President said they are expecting reflections on and actions toward ways to restore and protect our oceans as the Summit of the Future in September 2024 and next year’s UN Oceans Conference approach.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a State of the Ocean report earlier in the week pushing policymakers to think about “the ocean we need for the future we want.”
The report detailed threats to the ocean and trends that could help identify drivers of change.
It warned that the rate of ocean warming has doubled in 20 years and that coastal species are suffocating due to decreased oxygen levels in the ocean, among other things.
One of its conclusions is that “ocean literacy practice and research is a strategic ally to optimize resources, accelerate behavioural change and improve the implementation of ocean conservation programmes and sustainability practices.”
Speakers at UN Headquarters on Friday included marine biologist and oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who said finding ways to share the importance of protecting our ocean with the world can lead to vital action to also preserve coastal wildlife.
“Now is the time for governments, businesses, investors, scientists and communities to come together in defence of our ocean,” UN Secretary-General Guterres said.
In a similar call to action, General Assembly President Francis said we should “redouble our efforts to support and advance ocean action, build much-needed capacity in [small island developing states] and other developing countries – and promote innovative financing solutions that drive transformation and scale up resilience.”
GENEVA (6 May 2024) – Widespread violations of women and girls’ rights in Haiti are continuing with impunity, UN experts warned today, as the country grapples with an unprecedented outbreak of violence endangering the right to physical and mental integrity, and even life.
“Women and girls continue to disproportionately suffer from the crisis ravaging the country,” the experts said. “Pre-existing inequalities and gender-based discrimination have exacerbated the current situation.”
“The outbreak of violence in Haiti has resulted in loss of livelihoods and food insecurity, widespread and multiple displacement, the collapse of education, breakdown of healthcare and other essential services,” the experts noted. They also pointed to severely limited access to justice due to fear of reprisals and the lack of economic opportunities.
The experts expressed grave concern that criminal gangs continue to use sexual violence against women and girls as a primary tactic to instil fear, extort money, gain control of power, and punish local communities.
“Internally displaced women and girls, who live in inadequate and precarious displacement sites, are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence,” they said. The experts also warned that risks and prevalence of trafficking of women and girls for purposes of sexual exploitation and sexual slavery had increased.
Calling on criminal gangs to put an immediate end to all forms of gender-based violence, the experts expressed alarm towards the authorities’ serious and continued failure to protect and fulfil the rights of women and girls in this crisis. "No one should be forced to choose between their safety and their ability to provide for themselves and their families, attend school, access healthcare and basic services, including sexual and reproductive care,” they said. They sounded alarm that survivors of violence continue to be unable to receive the assistance and protection they need.
The experts were also concerned at reports that the Government undermined and under-resourced State institutions that provide social services and protect human rights, failed to address corruption in the justice sector and beyond, and was actively complicit in gang activities.
"Haiti must return to democratic and constitutional governance based on the principles of respect for human rights, transparency and accountability," the experts urged. “The transitional government must exert good-faith efforts to execute its mandate and create conditions for free, fair and inclusive elections.”
They emphasised that women’s voices and perspectives must be front and centre in the political transition process, to ensure accountability and non-recurrence of widespread violations of women and girls’ rights.
“We call on authorities to take all measures to ensure the full and equal participation of women in the peacebuilding process, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1325," the experts said.
Cuba's unyielding spirit presents itself as an inspiration cornerstone. Not only for its countrymen, but for its Caribbean vicinity and other emerging countries. With global problems like climate change becoming more urgent, Cuba's methods to sustainable development and social empowerments offer valuable resilience and innovation lessons. The people's unyielding determination assures us that, "this too shall pass," strengthening the island’s potential for a brighter, more prosperous future. United and working collectively, we can utilize Cuba’s resilience to achieve our community's prosperity and wellness aims.
What happened in Latin America and the Caribbean? We saw that three out of four 15-year-old students lack basic skills in mathematics, and almost half do not understand what they read.
We partnered with the World Bank to publish the report Learning Can’t Wait: Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean from PISA 2022. We sought to better understand the reasons behind this learning crisis in the region.
And, just as with child mortality, we know where and why.
Where?
Also, in low—and middle-income countries, on average, 15-year-old students in the region lag five years behind the average student in OECD countries. If we compare Latin American and Caribbean countries with those above the OECD average, the gap is 12 years of learning compared to Singapore, which leads the PISA rankings.We not only know where the learning crisis is located and in which countries these learning challenges exist, but we also know who the lagging students are within countries.
There is an enormous inequality in learning by socioeconomic status: 88% of low-income students underperform in mathematics, compared to 55% of the wealthiest students. That’s a difference of more than 30 percentage points between the two groups.
Why do Latin America and the Caribbean have low learning levels?
We not only know where, but we know why:
We know the magnitude of the problem. We have studied it in depth. We know where the problem lies and why we are facing this challenge. And we also know the effective solutions. We have done it before; we can do it again. The main challenge is how to transform the region’s education systems at scale. Because learning can’t wait, these generations of children and youth cannot wait.
Turning to Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the escalation of violence in several neighbourhoods in the capital, Port-au-Prince, has led to some [15,000; corrected below] people being forced to flee their homes. Most of these people had already been displaced previously.
Despite the security constraints, our humanitarian partners on the ground have begun to respond to these new displacements by providing food; hygiene and health kits; mattresses, blankets and sheets; as well as lamps.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have delivered some 5,500 hot meals to some 3,000 people living in the three new displacement sites, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has started distributing emergency shelter material to more than 300 families.
The humanitarian community in Haiti calls on all sides to put an immediate stop to the violence; to allow safe access to the people in need; and respect human rights and humanitarian norms and standards.
As a reminder, some 5.5 million people — that’s nearly half of the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance.
This year’s $674 million Humanitarian appeal for Haiti is just 2.5 per cent funded; that means it had received only $17 million.
Tomorrow afternoon, the Security Council is scheduled to hold a private meeting on the situation in Haiti. The head of our mission there — Maria Isabel Salvador — is expected to brief on the United Nations’ behalf; that will be done virtually.
I also want to reiterate that the Secretary-General is of course deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti and its impact on Haitian civilians.
He calls for urgent action, particularly in providing financial support for the Multinational Security Support mission, which is — as a reminder — is not a UN peacekeeping force. This force will need to address the pressing security requirements of the Haitian people and prevent the country from plunging into further chaos.
He also calls on the Government of Haiti and other political actors to swiftly agree to the necessary steps to advance the political process towards the restoration of democratic institutions through the holding of elections.