U N I T E D   N A T I O N S N A T I O N S   U N I E S   THE SECRETARY-GENERAL -- MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR ERADICATION OF POVERTY 17 October 2012 Poverty is easy to denounce but difficult to combat.  Those suffering from hunger, want and indignity need more than sympathetic words; they need concrete support.

UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Antonio Banderas invites people to join the global conversation on Rio+20 New York — World renowned Spanish actor and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)  Goodwill Ambassador Antonio Banderas today launched a public service announcement aiming at inviting people to join the global conversation alongside the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development “Rio+20”. More...

ADMINISTRATOR HELEN CLARK ----- MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA 17 MAY 2012 Today is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).  It commemorates the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.  That was indeed a milestone, and since then there has been much progress.  Last year, the Human Rights Council passed their first resolution ever on “Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity”.  An historic study documenting discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity was produced by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and debated by the Council.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ----- MESSAGE ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 5 June 2012 As the world gears up for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), World Environment Day is an opportunity to highlight the need for a paradigm shift towards a more sustainable world.  This year’s theme, “Green Economy: Does it include you?”, underscores the need for everyone to play their part in keeping humankind's ecological footprint within planetary boundaries.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ----- MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL MOTHER EARTH DAY 22 April 2012 The annual observance of International Mother Earth Day honours our one and only planet and the place of human beings in it.  It is also meant as a call to action against human disregard for nature’s life-supporting resources and ecosystems.