United Nations Secretary General Message on World Tourism Day 2012

 The Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development emphasized that well-designed and well-managed tourism can make a significant contribution to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. One of the world’s largest economic sectors, tourism is especially well-placed to promote environmental sustainability, green growth and our struggle against climate change through its relationship with energy.

 “Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development” is the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day, selected to advance the goals of the 2012 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. Hundreds of millions of people around the world depend for income on this energy-intensive sector. Sustainable energy will allow tourism to continue to expand while mitigating its impact on the environment.

 Many in the tourism industry have already shown leadership in developing and deploying clean energy solutions, cutting energy consumption and carbon emissions in some regions by up to 40 per cent through initiatives such as the Hotel Energy Solutions toolkit developed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. Other concrete advances include the growing use of energy-efficient fuels in air travel, sustainable procurement strategies and increasingly popular carbon offsetting schemes.

 Everyone has a role in sustainable tourism. I commend the tourism community for its growing commitment to sustainable energy. I also thank the tourists who play their part by offsetting their own carbon emissions, choosing ecologically friendly destinations and providers, or simply by postponing having their towels laundered. Every action counts. This year, one billion international tourists will travel to foreign destinations. Imagine what one act multiplied by one billion can do.

 On this World Tourism Day, I appeal to all who work in and enjoy the benefits of this global sector to join in building a more sustainable future for all.

World Tourism Day (WTD) 2012

Theme for 2012: Tourism & Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development

 

 

World Tourism Day (WTD) 2012 is being held under the theme Tourism & Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development. Official celebrations will take place in Maspalomas, Spain (September 27).

This year’s theme aims to highlight tourism’s role in a brighter energy future; a future in which the world’s entire population has access to modern, efficient and affordable energy services.
Tourism today is at the forefront of some of the world’s most ambitious and innovative clean energy solutions: the aviation industry is implementing cutting-edge technologies to make aircraft lighter than ever before; commercial flights are beginning to use biofuels in their fuel mix; key card systems and energy saving light bulbs are increasingly being implemented in hotel rooms worldwide; and tour operators are asking for energy efficiency throughout their supply chains.




World Tourism Day 2012 (English) from UNWTO on Vimeo.
The theme is also an opportunity to ensure international tourism continues to play a role in tackling the major energy challenges of our time, being addressed by the 2012 United Nations International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.

Message from IMO Secretary-General to mark the 35th celebration of World Maritime Day.

  
World Maritime Day 2012: IMO: One hundred years after the Titanic.



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World Maritime Day (27 September)

On 14 April 1912, the White Star liner ‘Titanic’ was transformed in a few short hours from the world’s most celebrated ship into a name forever associated with disaster. Many ships have sunk – too many – but few have had the lasting impact of the seemingly invulnerable Titanic.

 The Titanic tragedy prompted the major shipping nations of the world, at that time, to take decisive action to address maritime safety. This led to the adoption, two years later, of the first-ever International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea and, ultimately, to the establishment of IMO itself.

Today, much updated and revised, SOLAS is still the most important international treaty addressing maritime safety. And, as 2012 marks the 100th year since that ill-fated ship foundered, the IMO Council decided that the World Maritime Day theme for this year should be “IMO: One hundred years after the Titanic”. Since its formation, IMO’s main task has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for international shipping. Its mandate was originally limited to safety-related issues, but subsequently this remit has been expanded to embrace environmental protection, legal matters, technical co-operation, issues that affect the overall efficiency of shipping and maritime security, including piracy and armed robbery against ships.

The direct output of IMO’s regulatory work is a comprehensive body of international conventions, supported by literally hundreds of guidelines and recommendations that, between them, govern just about every facet of the shipping industry – from the drawing board to the scrapyard. The most important result of all this is that shipping today is safer, cleaner, more efficient and more secure than at any time in the past. But each new generation of vessels brings fresh challenges and, regrettably, accidents still occur, reinforcing the need for continual improvement.

Our efforts to promote maritime safety, not least of passenger ships, will never stop. We should respond quickly to accidents and we must be proactive. To this end, we are planning to hold a two-day symposium at IMO Headquarters, in London, in conjunction with IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee next June, on the "Future of Ship Safety”. The idea is to go beyond the current safety issues under the Committee and rigorously consider the future of maritime safety. The objective is for the discussions to contribute to the future advancement of the Organization’s maritime safety policy.

What separates the passenger and cruise ship industry from the rest of shipping is the unique nature of its cargo – hundreds and thousands of people. The lives of thousands of people are in the hands of the ship's management, the captain and crew and the operating staff. I therefore hope that this sector, in particular, will take the opportunity to lead the way, because "safety" is its main product – not comfort, entertainment or leisure.

Without safety, the industry will not survive, let alone sustain its growth; and real safety does not result simply as a consequence of regulation-compliance. Some 20 years ago, the International Safety Management Code, adopted by IMO, represented a step-change in the establishment of a safety culture in shipping. The time has now come to generate another step-change. This will not be achieved through legislative measures alone. We must generate a new impetus in shipping to go beyond compliance with regulations and explore industry-wide mechanisms to ensure the safety culture is embedded throughout the entire industry.

 So this year, as we look back on that pivotal disaster 100 years ago, I urge IMO Member Governments and the shipping industry as a whole to refresh their determination to improve and enhance the safety of passenger shipping today, and into the future.

UN Secretary General Message for World Maritime Day 2012

Secretary-General's Message for 2012 ---

 When the passenger liner Titanic departed from Southampton on 10 April 1912 on her first transatlantic voyage, no one could imagine the drama that would unfold over the next four days. After the ship hit an iceberg and sank, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives, the story of that ill-fated ship became etched forever in the public consciousness.

 Undoubtedly the most important legacy of the Titanic disaster was an urgent acceleration in the process of setting and implementing international standards and procedures for maritime activity. The first international conference on the safety of life at sea was held in London in January 1914. Its outcome – the Convention on Safety of Life at Sea – remains the leading international treaty on maritime safety. The task of keeping it updated, and maintaining its development in light of technological advances, falls to a United Nations agency, the International Maritime Organization.

 Each successive generation brings new challenges. In recent years, the passenger shipping sector has seen phenomenal growth on all fronts – numbers of passengers, numbers of ships, new destinations and, perhaps most significant of all, in ship sizes. And despite advances in technology, accidents continue to occur, as demonstrated when the Costa Concordia ran aground in Italy earlier this year.

Nevertheless, thanks largely to the IMO regulatory regime, shipping today is safer and more environmentally friendly than it has ever been. New regulations for passenger ships were adopted by the IMO in 2006 and entered into force in 2010. They ensure that all new passenger vessels are constructed to the highest possible standards. A century after the Titanic was lost in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, the IMO is striving to ensure continual improvement in safety at sea. Its work is as important now as ever.

Ban Ki-moon

World Maritime Day 2012: IMO: One hundred years after the Titanic

One of the consequences of the sinking, in 1912, of the Titanic, in which more than 1,500 people lost their lives, was the adoption, two years later, of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention). The 1914 version of the Convention was gradually superseded, respectively, by SOLAS 1929, SOLAS 1948, SOLAS 1960 (the first adopted under the auspices of IMO, then known as IMCO) and SOLAS 1974. SOLAS 1974 is still in force today, amended and updated many times. This year's World Maritime Day theme will provide an opportunity to take stock of the developments in maritime safety since that disaster and to examine which areas of ship safety should be given priority in the years to come.

Ban Ki-moon message for the International Day of Peace, 21 September 2012

International Day of Peace 2012




 

 On the International Day of Peace, the United Nations calls for a complete cessation of hostilities around the world. We also ask people everywhere to observe a minute of silence, at noon local time, to honour the victims – those who have lost their lives, and those who survived but must now cope with trauma and pain. The theme of this year's observance is "Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future". Armed conflicts attack the very pillars of sustainable development. Natural resources must be used for the benefit of society, not to finance wars. Children should be in school, not recruited into armies. National budgets should focus on building human capacity, not deadly weapons. On the International Day of Peace, I call on combatants around the world to find peaceful solutions to their conflicts. Let us all work together for a safe, just and prosperous future for all. Ban Ki-moon, 21 September 2012

International Day of Democracy 2012 : Secretary-General's Message for 2012

Secretary-General's Message for 2012

Today we look back on yet another year of remarkable events in the story of democracy -- a story that continues to be written by people who yearn for dignity and human rights, for an end to corruption, for a say in their future, for jobs, justice and a fair share of political power.
Their story is just beginning. Democracies are not born overnight, nor built in a year, or by holding one or two elections. They require sustained and painstaking work. Yet, once begun, there can be no going back.
Reform must be real. People do not seek authoritarianism with a human face. They want a virtuous circle of rights and opportunity under the rule of law, a vibrant civil society and an enterprising private sector, backed by efficient and accountable state institutions.
Inclusive dialogue is crucial. Diversity is a strength. We must work to promote pluralism and protect the rights of minorities and the vulnerable. And women must be at the centre of efforts to build democratic futures. They have been at the forefront of movements for change. They have a right to a real say in governance and decision-making.
The voices of the young must also be heard and heeded. Profound demographic pressures around the world make this an imperative. Faced with bleak prospects and unresponsive governments, young people will act on their own to reclaim their future.
Underpinning these prerequisites -- and essential for long term success -- is democracy education, the theme of this year’s observance. It is needed so that all citizens in all nations, in democracies young and old, established or fragile, fully understand their rights and responsibilities. And it is especially needed in countries that have made recent democratic gains so that progress made does not unravel.
The United Nations is strongly committed to working with partners to develop global and local initiatives that elevate democracy education as an integral part of all education initiatives and as a component of long-term governance strategies. Let us build partnerships between international education experts and Governments to develop and disseminate best practices. Let us develop a culture of civic participation to explore opportunities made possible by new media, and support countries in devising curricula and training methods.
In marking this year’s International Day of Democracy, let us use all our creativity to advance this mission. Let us work to bring democracy education to all, and in particular, to those societies in transition that need it most.

Ban Ki-moon