UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

End AIDS epidemic by 2030!

Supporting the World AIDS Day today (Dec 1), he states: “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.”

Today is International Day of Peace

The symbolism of a day without fighting is a crucial reminder that conflict can and must come to an end, the UN says in a statement.

“But the UN thinks that peace is about much more than putting weapons aside. It is about building a society in which people live free from poverty and share the benefits of prosperity.”

The theme of this year’s Peace Day highlights the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which 193 Member States of the UN unanimously adopted last year as building blocks for peace. 

Ban welcomes submission of climate action plans by 147 nations

Accounting for over 85 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, calling it a “positive first step” towards achieving a universal climate change agreement this December.

The action plans, or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), will form the basis of the agreement expected to be reached at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP21, to be held in Paris.