At UN conference in France, Guterres calls for action to save our oceans
A major global meeting is underway in the French coastal city of Nice aimed at conserving oceans, seas and marine resources, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.
Here’s Secretary-General António Guterres speaking on Monday at the opening of the Third United Nations Ocean Conference.
“SDG 14 on life below water remains one of the least funded Sustainable Development Goals. This must change – through increased public finance, greater support from development banks, and bold models to unlock private capital. I urge all countries to come forward with bold pledges.”
He warned that oceans are absorbing 90 per cent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions.
They are also facing other challenges, including overfishing, plastic pollution, rising temperatures and acidification.
The conference ends on Friday and will culminate with the adoption of a political declaration and an action plan to speed up global efforts to protect and sustainably use the ocean.
Iran urged to fully cooperate with international atomic energy watchdog
Moving to Vienna, where the head of the UN-backed nuclear energy watchdog urgently called for Iran “to cooperate fully and effectively” with the agency.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the appeal in remarks at the quarterly meeting of its Board of Governors.
He recalled that the IAEA had previously found man-made uranium particles at three undeclared locations in Iran, which it accessed in 2019 and 2020.
Since then, the agency has been seeking explanations and clarifications but Iran “has repeatedly either not answered or not provided technically credible answers.”
Iran “has also sought to sanitize the locations,” thus impeding IAEA verification activities.
Mr. Grossi said the agency has concluded that the three locations, and possibly other related areas, “were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material.”
Furthermore, Iran did not declare nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at the three sites.
He said that unless and until Iran assists the IAEA in resolving the outstanding issues, the agency can’t provide assurances that its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
Nigeria: UN allocates $6 million to tackle ‘worst malnutrition crisis’ in five years
The UN’s top humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, announced on Monday that he is releasing $6 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) “to respond to the worst malnutrition crisis in Nigeria for five years.”
This follows a joint call last November by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and child rights agency UNICEF for urgent support, with an estimated 33 million people across Nigeria expected to face food insecurity this year.
Back in March, WFP warned that without new funding, food and nutrition assistance in the Central Sahel and Nigeria would run out the following month, urging donors to provide $620 million to sustain operations over the next six months.
Nigeria’s hunger crisis is part of a wider West African emergency, driven by conflict, displacement, economic hardship, and extreme climate shocks, including devastating floods in 2024 that affected more than six million people across the region.
Dianne Penn, UN News
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