Cooperatives have been contributing to sustainable development and social inclusion, and have accumulated tremendous experience in this regard. At the same time, economies are still trying to recover from the global financial crisis, which has compounded previous difficulties in achieving economic growth and development as well as increasing the difficulties for the social groups left behind. This experience of cooperatives could benefit countries addressing the challenge of economic diversification. Cooperatives are in every major sector.

The world’s young people need safe spaces – both physical and digital - where they can “freely express their views” and “pursue their dreams” was the core message of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to mark this year’s International Youth Day.

“The hopes of the world rest on young people,” said the UN chief on Friday, in advance of the official Day, which is celebrated annually on 12 August.

The Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, established by the General Assembly in its resolution 65/182 with the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons, will hold its ninth session at United Nations Headquarters from 23 to 26 July 2018. The discussions will focus on two focus areas: autonomy and independence, and long-term and palliative care.

The 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) took place from 9–18 July at the UN Headquarters in New York under the theme: “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”.

The 2018 HLPF focused on the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

On 2 July 2018, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) Chair Ms. Miriam Wallet Aboubakrine presented the report of the 17th session of the Permanent Forum to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) during its Coordination and Management Meeting.

The Council adopted the draft decisions recommended to the Council in the report. Find the the full report in all official languages of the United Nations at the link:

Cementing and protecting the rights of around 1.5 billion people around the world in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a “moral imperative” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday.

He was addressing a conference of signatories to the Convention at UN Headquarters in New York, describing it as one of the most widely-ratified international human rights treaties, which reaffirms that people with disabilities are entitled to the same treatment as everybody else.

Elder abuse is a global social issue which affects millions of older persons around the world, and an issue which deserves the attention of the international community.

The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 66/127, designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations.

The theme this year is “Moving from Awareness to Action through a Human Rights based approach”. 

The United Nations needs to spend more time talking directly to young people across the world, beyond simply talking about their concerns, said the President of the General Assembly on Wednesday, opening a major Youth Dialogue event at UN Headquarters in New York.

The Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Ms. Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, intervened today via video message at the 27th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

See video here: https://bit.ly/2Grqiod

For more information on the session click here: https://bit.ly/2IwYZuf

The implementation, success, and sustainability of SDGs 16 and 11 are greatly dependent on a family focused approach that takes into consideration the contexts within which decisions about laws, policies, and programmes are made. Isolated approaches that target individuals without consideration of the larger family environments in which they are embedded are destined to fail. It is thus, imperative that families in all their various forms, need to be recognized, targeted, strengthened, and supported.