United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed María Soledad Cisternas Reyes of Chile as his Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed 26 year old Jayathma Wickramanayake of Sri Lanka- who played a key role in transforming the youth development sector at the national level- as his next Envoy on Youth. She will succeed Ahmad Alhendawi of Jordan to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service in addressing the needs and rights of young people, bringing the work of the United Nations closer to them.

In 2017, HLPF will take place from 10-19 July at the UNHQ in New York under the theme “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”.

Editorial spotlight: Amplifying the voices of women with disabilities

At the 10th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, taking place from 13-15 June, UN Women will amplify the voices of women with disabilities and highlight the importance of their representation in decision-making.

During the 10th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD, States Parties, Observer States, UN agencies, civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with Disabilities, and other stakeholders will organize over 80 side-events and receptions from 12 to 15 June.

Side-events are open to all conference attendees.

The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is well underway, and cooperative businesses remain one of the best-kept secrets in the SDG toolbox. Cooperative enterprises are based on ethics, values, and a set of seven fundamental principles that keep people, rather than profit, at the centre of their businesses. Cooperatives can be a self-help tool for people to create their own economic opportunities through the power of the collective and pull themselves out of poverty.

Fiji ratified the Convention on 07 June 2017, bringing the total number of States Parties to the CRPD to 174.

Working towards universal ratification and implementation of the CRPD:

The tenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (COSP10) will take place from 13 to 15 June 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York.