World Poverty Could Be Cut in Half If All Adults Completed Secondary Education

A new UNESCO policy paper shows that the global poverty rate could be more than halved if all adults completed secondary school. Yet, new data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) show persistently high out-of-school rates in many countries, making it likely that completion levels in education will remain well below that target for generations to come.

G77 Calls for Stronger Coordination Battling Humanitarian Crises

With the United Nations battling several humanitarian emergencies worldwide, the Group of 77 has called for stronger coordination of UN assistance to people caught up in the ongoing crises.

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim Chairman of the Geneva Centre on Human Rights and its Executive Director Ambassador Idriss Jazairy meet with Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (“The Geneva Centre”) as well as the Centre’s Executive Director Ambassador Idriss Jazairy and Board Member Trevor Mostyn attended the inauguration ceremony of the new premises of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies whose patron is HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.

Developing Nations Reaffirm Support for New Urban Agenda

The Group of 77 has renewed its strong commitment to sustainable housing and urban development as envisaged in the New Urban Agenda adopted at the Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016.

Effective Management of Landslides

At least 141 people (at the time of writing), including children and four army personnel, were killed in separate series of landslides triggered by heavy rains in Rangamati, Bandarban, and Chittagong on June 13, 2017. The losses have been monumental, and officials fear that the death toll may rise even further in the worst landslide since 2007, when a landslide resulted in the death of around 130 people and affected 1.5 million people in the region.

Brotherhood’s Role

The Jamaat-i-Islami might consider itself a vanguard party in the Leninist style but there is no escaping the fact that its Islamist platform has never found great electoral resonance in Pakistan. Even if it can claim to have had a disproportionate influence on the development of Pakistan’s polity, its election results have never put it close to winning power.

2030 Agenda Most Relevant for Developing Nations

The Group of 77 has reiterated that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is “the most relevant issue for developing countries.”

Mohammed bin Rashid Emphasises Role of Media amid Current Challenges

Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has highlighted the role of media in helping the region face the current challenges, especially by providing objective coverage of the rapidly changing socio-political and economic landscape in the region.

144 Countries to Set Guidelines to Protect and Promote the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the Digital Environment

Representatives from the countries* that have ratified UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will examine ways to apply the guiding principles of the Convention in the digital environment, when they hold their biennial annual meeting at UNESCO Headquarters from 13 to 15 June. During the event, participants will approve Operational Guidelines on the Implementation of the Convention in the Digital Environment.

G77 Appeals for Conservation of Ocean’s Resources

The Group of 77 has expressed its strong support for a "Call for Action," adopted at the end of the UN conference on Oceans in early June, which commits member states to move forward in their attempts to conserve and sustain the use of marine resources.

Trump Will Make the US Face Loss and Damage Claims

Since the announcement by President Trump that the US will withdraw from the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change, he has been facing a whirlwind of push backs and rejection by all the 195 countries who are parties to the Paris Agreement (only Syria and Nicaragua did not sign it), and it looks like the US will be on its own on this issue from now on, and is already being termed a rogue state by many.

It’s Not Just China: Here’s Who Could Benefit from Trump’s Exit from the Paris Deal

President Donald Trump's decision to exit an international climate agreement sparked outrage from many quarters, but some countries are likely already eyeing the positives from the move, experts said Friday.

UAE in top 10 in IMD World Competitiveness Centre rankings 2017

The UAE jumped five positions to rank among the world's top 10 most competitive economies for the first time in the annual rankings of the IMD World Competitiveness report 2017.

5 Devastating Cyclones in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, the delta country, has been in the line of a few devastating tropical cyclones. In their trail, the cyclones have left behind complete chaos, death and despair. As the country learns to adapt and respond to this natural disaster more efficiently, we take a look back at some of the worst tropical cyclones to have hit the country.

Investing in Peace

The United Nations Charter was a visionary document, calling on all nations “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. Though we speak often of this enduring commitment to building peaceful and stable societies, it is the world's peacekeepers who understand this dedication best. It is by their perseverance, their commitment, and at times, their sacrifice, that we can help turn chaos into stability, and stability into prosperity. This year, as we celebrate International Peacekeepers Day, let us take a moment to remember the invaluable contribution peacekeepers have made to peace around the globe, and the many lives that have been made better by their service. This is an opportunity to reflect on peacekeepers' successes, their strengths, but also to consider the ways in which peacekeeping can improve and evolve. The nature of war is always changing, and so our approach to peace and to peacekeeping must change along with it.