Press Releases

New York, 30 April 2021 Ten years ago, we launched the very first International Jazz Day in the United Nations General Assembly Hall at the initiative of UNESCO and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. With every passing…

New York, 26 April 2021 Today we mark the thirty fifth anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on 26 April 1986 – one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history. Hundreds of thousands of people…

New York, 24 April 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic is a tragic reminder of how deeply connected we are. There is a clear and urgent need for concrete multilateral solutions, based on common action across borders for the good of…

New York, 22 April 2021 As we mark International Mother Earth Day, our planet is at a tipping point. Humanity continues to abuse the natural world. We heedlessly plunder the Earth’s resources, deplete its wildlife and treat…

In this pivotal year for humanity, now is the time for bold climate action. The science is irrefutable and globally agreed: to stop the climate crisis from becoming a permanent catastrophe, we must limit global heating to 1.5…

New York, 7 April 2021 On this World Health Day, we highlight the inequalities and injustices of our health systems. The COVID-19 crisis has revealed how unequal our societies are. Within countries, illness and death from…

New York, 7 April 2021 I am privileged to participate in the commemoration of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. This year marks 27 years since more than one million people…

New York, 6 April 2021 Sport is one of the great human pursuits – a model of teamwork, a platform for individual excellence, a driver of economic growth for all of society. The United Nations has long worked in wide-ranging…

New York, 4 April 2021 Today, on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, we reflect on how far we have come in raising awareness of the dangers posed by landmines, and recommit to our target of…