UN rights chief urges executives gathering in Davos to stand up for human rights
13 January 2017 – The top United Nations human rights official today called on business leaders gathering at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss town of Davos next week to use their considerable influence to stand up for human rights and prevent rights violations in countries where they operate.
At Security Council, UN chief Guterres makes case for new efforts to build and sustain peace
10 January 2017 – Delivering his first formal briefing to the Security Council, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres underlined the need for new, strengthened efforts to build and sustain peace ranging from prevention, conflict resolution and peacekeeping to peacebuilding and sustainable development.
New UN chief Guterres pledges to make 2017 'a year for peace'
1 January 2017- On his first day at the helm of the United Nations, Secretary-General, António Guterres today pledged to make 2017 a year for peace.
'On this New Year's Day, I ask all of you to join me in making one shared New Year's resolution: Let us resolve to put peace first,' said Mr. Guterres in an appeal for peace.
He said one question weighs heavy on his heart, 'That is: how can we help the millions of people caught up in conflict, suffering massively in wars with no end in sight?'
'Peace must be our goal and our guide,' he said, urging all citizens, governments and leaders to strive to overcome differences.
EU commits additional 7 million euros to support UNICEF in Iraq
27 December 2016- The United Nations Children's Fund () has received a new pledge of 7 million euros from the European Union to support the UN agency's work in Iraq, where an estimated 11 million are in need of humanitarian assistance- half of them children.
'This generous funding from the European Union at such a critical time will enable UNICEF to continue providing emergency assistance to Iraq's families, providing hope for a better future for every child,' said Peter Hawkins, the UNICEF Representative in Iraq, in a press release which warns that families continue to flee fighting in Mosul. Humanitarian needs for those inside the city increase and winter conditions exacerbate children's vulnerabilities.
Iraqi forces began a military campaign to oust Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) terrorists from Mosul on October 17.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Delivers Last Public Lecture at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
In his last public appearance as UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon congratulated the institution on becoming a member of United Nations Academic Impact and he congratulated the Paul Simon Institute on its upcoming 20³Ù³óÌýbirthday. The institute was a renowned supporter of international education and of active U.S. engagement across the international agenda.
Security Council unanimously approves sending UN monitors to war-torn Aleppo
19 December 2016 – Alarmed at the devastating humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, where perhaps thousands of civilians remain trapped, the Security Council today requested the United Nations and other relevant institutions to carry out adequate, neutral monitoring and direct observation on evacuations from the eastern districts of the war-battered city.
Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council also requested the UN to ensure further deployment of staff for Monitoring and reporting on the evacuations, as needed and demanded all parties to provide these monitors with safe, immediate and unimpeded access.
Respecting gender parity, geographical diversity pledges, SG-designate Guterres picks core team members
16 December 2016 – The United Nations Secretary-General-designate,  today announced that he will be appointing Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as the UN deputy chief, on his assumption of office as the ninth chief of the global Organization in January 2017.
Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is currently the Minister of Environment of Nigeria, where she steers the country's efforts to protect the natural environment and conserve resources for sustainable development, read a statement issued by Mr. Guterres's office.
UNAI Launches Digital Discussion Series with Young Legislators Who Prove They're #NotTooYoungToRun
United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) has launched its new Digital Discussion Series, an online series of podcasts and social media conversations with innovators, researchers, activists and educators talking about a range of diverse issues that matter to the UNAI audience!
Taking oath of office, António Guterres pledges to work for peace, development and a reformed United Nations
12 December 2016- Sworn in today as the ninth and next United Nations Secretary-General,pledgedreposition development at the centre of the Organization'swork and ensure that the UN can change to effectively meet the myriad challenges facing the international community.
'The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process more on people and less on bureaucracy,' said Mr. Guterres after taking the oath of office at a ceremony before the 193-member UN General Assembly.
Mr. Guterres, a former Prime Minister of Portugal (1995 to 2002) and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015) replaces Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of the month after leading the global Organization for the past 10 years.
Nearly 535 million children living in crisis-hit countries – UNICEF
9 December 2016 – As the United Nations Children's Fund () prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of its work for the world's most vulnerable children, the agency today issued a stark warning that despite significant progress, too many children are still being left behind, with nearly 535 million of them living in harsh conditions, lacking access to decent health, education and protection services.
UN agency urges EU to adopt stronger and more pro-active approach on refugees
5 December 2016 – The United Nations refugee agency today proposed far-reaching reforms of Europe's management of refugees, including the asylum system, recalling that scenes of chaos at borders last year led to a breakdown in the public's trust in the capacity of governments to manage the refugee challenge and played into the hands of those wishing to turn those fleeing for their lives into scapegoats.
On International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, UN spotlights need to combat forced labour, particularly of children
2 December 2016 - Noting that the number of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour has decreased and frameworks to tackle contemporary slavery and trafficking have expanded, senior United Nations officials, including the Secretary-General and the head of the UN labour agency, today called for concerted action to save those who remain trapped in extreme exploitation, abuse and violence, including sexual and gender-based violence.
Partnership with MIT Solve Announced!
United Nations Academic Impact is officially partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on their first ever Solve Challenge, and we need your ideas! Solve is a new initiative from MIT that hopes to tackle some of the world's largest challenges by bringing people from various background together in order to come up with solutions and create projects to test those. Through crowdsourcing of ideas, Solve hopes to build a community of technologists, researchers, business leaders, social entrepreneurs, change agents, and policy makers to support the selected projects from inspiration to experimentation and action and scalable implementation by providing feedback and mentorship.
MIT Solve works around four pillars
Learn- to provide quality education by 2050 to anyone, anywhere who wants to learn
Cure - to leverage innovations in healthcare delivery and medical research to make care affordable and universally available
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON WORLD AIDS DAY
Thirty-five years since the emergence of AIDS, the international community can look back with some pride but we must also look ahead with resolve and commitment to reach our goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
There has been real progress in tackling the disease. More people than ever are on treatment. Since 2010, the number of children infected through mother-to-child transmission has dropped by half. Fewer people die of AIDS-related causes each year. And people living with HIV are living longer lives.
The number of people with access to life-saving medicines has doubled over the past five years, now topping 18 million. With the right investments, the world can get on the fast-track to achieve our target of 30 million people on treatment by 2030. Access to HIV medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission is now available to more than 75 percent of those in need.
United Nations Democracy Fund Call for Proposals
If you or your organization have a project proposal that will strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage participation of all groups in the democratic process, this is your chance to receive funding from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF).
UNDEF is looking for high impact, two year-long projects that would be eligible for a grant of up to US$300,000 per project. A large majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations. In this way, UNDEF plays a distinct role in complimenting the United Nation&rsquos work with governments, strengthening democratic governance around the world.
UNDEF is looking for a project that deals with one or more of these seven main areas:
Women's rights and empowerment / Gender equality
Community activism
Rule of Law and human rights
Youth engagement
Strengthening civil society capacity for interaction with Government