When governments repress their people and shield themselves from scrutiny, press freedom is among the most powerful vehicles for exposing misdeeds and upholding public trust. When people face discrimination and marginalization, access to media can give them voice and create a shared awareness of their plight. And in an era of pressing global challenges, the free exchange of information and ideas through the media can connect people and countries in networks of common cause. World Press Freedom Day has its roots in the African journalists who, in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of media restrictions in Eastern Europe, sought similar advances on their continent.  They worked with UNESCO to organize the 1991 seminar in Namibia that produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on free and independent media, which in turn inspired the UN General Assembly two years later to proclaim this observance. Today it is the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East mobilizing for their democratic rights and freedoms -- and doing so with a heavy and creative reliance on the Internet and social media to help spur change in their societies. The theme of this year’s observance, “New Frontiers, New Barriers,” highlights this dramatically changed global media landscape.  New media and tools such as cell phones continue to empower individuals, enrich news-gathering and illuminate once-largely-hidden workings of government, business and industry. Yet alongside these benefits stand old challenges such as the use of media to disseminate hatred and incite violence.  There are also undeniable new barriers being imposed by States, including cyber-surveillance, digital harassment and censorship on the Internet.  According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least six journalists who worked primarily online were killed in 2010.  And in 2008, for the first time, more “online reporters,” were in jail than those working in traditional media. On World Press Freedom Day, let us remember the journalists, editors and other media professionals who have been killed for their reporting.  And let us honour their memory by pursuing justice.  The impunity that often follows such murders suggests a disturbing lack of official concern for the protection of journalists, and outright contempt for the vital role they play.  Many other journalists languish in jail simply for doing their jobs. On this Day, as we mark the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, let us also pledge to bridge the digital divide, so that all people can benefit from access to and use of new media and communication technologies. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims the right of all people to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.  Let us reaffirm our commitment to this bedrock principle of democracy, development and peace.

This annual remembrance day, marking the anniversary of the entry-into-force of the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, is an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare and to reaffirm the international community’s condemnation of an inhumane weapon of mass destruction. The Chemical Weapons Convention embodies the collective determination of States and people to eliminate this threat completely and permanently, and to promote a world where chemistry is exclusively used for the benefit of humanity.  In that spirit, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 the International Year of Chemistry in order to celebrate chemistry as a science of peace and progress.   Important advances have been made in implementing the Convention’s provisions and fulfilling the mandate entrusted to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.  The Convention now has 188 States Parties.  More than 64 per cent of declared chemical warfare agents have been verifiably destroyed.  Three States have destroyed their stockpiles, and the remaining possessors are working intently toward that goal.  An impressive 90 per cent of chemical weapons production capability has been inactivated or permanently converted for peaceful purposes. The non-proliferation regime provided for under the Convention is also working effectively.  More than 1,940 inspections have been conducted at industrial facilities, and a monitoring mechanism is in place to track global exports and imports of toxic chemicals.  Almost all States Parties have also established a National Authority, a key actor in ensuring full and effective domestic implementation.   On this Remembrance Day, let us pledge to build on this progress by doing our utmost to eliminate chemical weapons stockpiles and promote the universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention and its implementation worldwide.

On World Malaria Day this year, there is much to celebrate.  Strategic global investments in malaria control continue to produce results.  Since 2008, more than 600 million Africans have been spared terrible suffering thanks to the distribution of more than 300 million long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets.  In 2009, 75 million people also benefited from indoor residual spraying with safe and effective insecticides.  Together with improved testing and treatment, these measures have saved nearly 750,000 lives over the past decade. Yet an estimated 781,000 people a year, most of them young children, still die from this preventable and treatable disease.  The costs can also be measured in lost economic productivity.  To reach our goal of near zero deaths from malaria by 2015, we need an extraordinary intensification of our actions in two key areas. First, scaling up the life-saving and cost-effective interventions that have already produced such dramatic results.  We need to ensure universal coverage for all people at risk.   Second, providing timely testing for all persons suspected of having malaria, and effective treatment for those confirmed to have the disease. Even these efforts, by themselves, will not be enough to conquer this ancient foe.  Parasite resistance to our best antimalarial medicines is a major threat.  We must respond by implementing our global plan to overcome such resistance.   Malaria is a leading killer of children under five years of age.  Success in this fight is crucial to improving the health of women and children around the world, especially in Africa, and in generating progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals.  It was with this in mind that, last September, I launched the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health.   On this observance of World Malaria Day, I call on all partners to increase investments in both research and programmes to defeat malaria.  Let us also build up human capacity in malaria-endemic countries; our continued success depends on the hard work and dedication of these unsung heroes.  And let us recognize that a world free of the burden of malaria will be a safer and healthier world for all.

The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is a timely reminder that clearing land of explosive remnants of war saves lives and protects livelihoods. Mine clearance prevents an indiscriminate weapon from causing harm and havoc long after conflicts have ended, while also creating jobs, transforming danger zones into productive land and setting societies on course for lasting security. Last year, hundreds of thousands of people received United Nations mine risk education that prevented tragedy for individuals, families and communities.  In Afghanistan alone, 14,400 people were employed in the mine action sector, helping to destroy more than 1 million explosive remnants of war. UN development agencies are striving to connect mine action with broader development plans to promote agricultural production, strengthen infrastructure, improve water supply and provide better education and health services.  These are all essential to reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Despite its many well-documented successes, mine action remains underfunded.  The 2011 portfolio of projects has secured only about a quarter of the needed resources, leaving a funding gap of $367 million. While this is a significant sum, the cost is far outweighed by the benefits of removing explosive hazards, creating awareness, providing mine risk education, assisting survivors and helping communities. I thank all those who have contributed to international mine action.  I also applaud the 156 States which are party to the Mine Ban Treaty, the 54 that have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the 98 that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On this International Day, I call for universal adherence to these important treaties, increased support for mine awareness and mine action, and greater global solidarity in support of this crucial element in our drive to build a safer and more prosperous world for all.

Although it is an early achiever of some of the targets under the Millennium Development Goals, Asia and the Pacific, as the world’s most populous region, needs to embrace a “new thinking” in its pursuit for more progress in MDGs. Creating new sources of domestic and regional consumption is crucial not only for filling development gaps but also for sustaining growth far beyond MDG 2015 target date.