Stand with all those who are working to forge a more peaceful, equal, stable and healthy future for all people.

Message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for New Year´s 2025.

 "Throughout 2024, hope has been hard to find. Wars are causing enormous pain, suffering and displacement. Inequalities and divisions are rife — fueling tensions and mistrust. And today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top ten 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last 10 years, including 2024. This is climate breakdown — in real time. We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose. In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future. It is essential — and it is possible. Even in the darkest days, I’ve seen hope power change. I see hope in activists — young and old — raising their voices for progress. I see hope in the humanitarian heroes overcoming enormous obstacles to support the most vulnerable people. I see hope in developing countries fighting for financial and climate justice. I see hope in the scientists and innovators breaking new ground for humanity. And I saw hope in September, when world leaders came together to adopt the Pact for the Future. The Pact is a new push to build peace through disarmament and prevention. To reform the global financial system so it supports and represents all countries. To push for more opportunities for women and young people. To build guardrails so technologies put people over profits and rights over runaway algorithms. And always, to stick to the values and principles enshrined by human rights, international law and the United Nations Charter. There are no guarantees for what’s ahead in 2025. But I pledge to stand with all those who are working to forge a more peaceful, equal, stable and healthy future for all people. Together, we can make 2025 a new beginning. Not as a world divided. But as nations united".

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare - 29 April

Secretary-General's Message for 2012

Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare - 29 April

The Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare is an occasion to mourn those who have suffered from these inhumane arms and to renew our resolve to eradicate them from our world.
When we remind the world of the agony inflicted by chemical weapons, we present the most compelling case for permanently outlawing them and establishing and verifying, through the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a comprehensive and legally binding ban.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the entry into force of the CWC. Today, with 188 State Parties representing 98 per cent of the world’s population, the Convention is standing strong. I call on the eight States remaining outside the Convention to join at the earliest possible date. There is no excuse for delays in ridding our planet of these instruments of suffering and death.

Through strong provisions, the Convention provides an effective international regime to verify the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles and to prevent their re-emergence. This will reduce the threat of chemical weapons terrorism and strengthen the work of the United Nations to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists.

The extended deadline for States parties to complete the destruction of chemical weapons is 29 April. Almost three quarters of all declared stockpiles have been destroyed. I welcome efforts by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to ensure that all chemical weapons are destroyed as soon as possible.

The OPCW is also continuously monitoring the chemical industry in an effort to prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons. So far, the Organisation has conducted 2200 inspections in 82 countries.
As we welcome the Convention’s achievements, we never let the memory of the victims fade. This Day is a time to remember them in the most meaningful way possible: by pledging to ensure that future generations never endure the scourge that these human beings suffered.

Ban Ki-moon

26 March 2012

Secretary-General SG/SM/14192 OBV/1086

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Secretary-General, in Message for World Health Day, Says Governments Can Provide Practical, Affordable Solutions to Help Older Citizens Lead Active Lives

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Health Day, to be observed on 7 April:

Each year on 7 April, we observe World Health Day to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948.  This year’s theme, “Good health adds life to years”, conveys an important message:  promoting good health throughout life improves one’s chances of remaining healthy and productive in one’s later years.

In the middle of the last century, there were just 14 million people in the world aged 80 years or older.  By 2050, there will be almost 400 million people in this age group, 100 million of them in China alone.  Soon, for the first time in history, the world will have more adults aged 65 or older than children under five.

This enormous shift in the age of the world’s population is closely linked to economic and social development.  Thanks primarily to global public health successes in improving childhood survival and adult health, people are living longer in most parts of the world.  Many high-income countries are already facing rapidly ageing populations.  In the coming decades, low- and middle-income countries will see equally dramatic increases.

Increased longevity is a cause for celebration and something to which we all aspire.  Older people make many valuable contributions to society — as family members, as active participants in the workforce, and as volunteers within communities.  The wisdom they have gained throughout their lives makes them a unique resource for society.

But more older people also means an increased demand on health-care and social security systems.  The greatest health threat for older people in all countries is now overwhelmingly from non-communicable diseases.  Heart disease and stroke are the biggest killers, and visual impairment and dementia the biggest causes of disability.  In low-income countries, the incidence of these diseases among older people is two to three times greater than in high-income countries.  This burden is carried not just by older people, but by their families and by society as a whole.

Many low- and middle-income countries have neither the infrastructure nor the resources to deal with existing needs, let alone to cope with the much greater demands expected in the future.  The good news is that there are many practical and affordable solutions that Governments can put in place to help their older citizens to lead healthy and active lives.  In addition, countries that invest in healthy ageing can expect a significant social and economic return for the whole community.

On this World Health Day, I urge Governments, civil society and the private sector to commit attention and resources to ensuring that people everywhere have the chance to grow older in good health.