A medic examines a child for signs of malnutrition in Khartoum, Sudan. Top news of the day | Tuesday: Doha, climate, Sudan, Turkic languages UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration, a new report on reducing emissions and the forecast of rising global temperatures, the Secretary-General’s call to end violence in Sudan, the proclamation of the World War II Day of Turkic Languages.
Doha Declaration
World leaders on Tuesday adopted the Doha Political Declaration at the Second World Summit on Social Development, reaffirming the global commitment to building fairer and more inclusive societies. The declaration is a collective commitment by governments to fight poverty, create decent jobs, confront discrimination, expand access to social protection and protect human rights. The document emphasizes that social development is a necessary condition for peace, stability and economic growth. The summit in the capital of Qatar, Doha, brought together more than 40 heads of state and government, 170 ministers, heads of international organizations, civil society representatives and experts.
Emissions reduction
New climate commitments under the Paris Agreement have only modestly improved the forecast for global temperature increases this century, according to an analysis by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Climate threats continue to increase. A new UNEP report finds that if countries fully implement their emissions reduction pledges, global temperatures will rise by 2.3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial levels. Last year the growth forecast was 2.6 degrees Celsius. So the world remains far from the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping warming to within two degrees Celsius.
Famine in Sudan
Although the food situation has begun to improve in parts of Sudan where fighting has subsided, residents in areas cut off from aid or under siege are at risk of a full-blown hunger. Conditions of mass famine have been confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a joint statement. Against the backdrop of what is happening, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rebel Rapid Reaction Forces to cease fire and sit down at the negotiating table. UNESCO, which is taking place these days in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, adopted a resolution establishing the World Day of Turkic Languages. It will be celebrated on December 15th. As stated in the document, the proclamation of the Day will contribute to the implementation of UNESCO’s priorities in the field of linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as the preservation and development of oral traditions and forms of expression. The item on Turkic languages was included in the agenda of the UNESCO General Conference at the request of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, with the support of 21 states.