International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 2023; March 5th.

FORUM: "The role of disarmament education as a tool for peace and security." International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 2023.

Since the founding of the United Nations, the goals of multilateral disarmament and arms limitation have been central to the Organization’s efforts to maintain international peace and security. Weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, continue to be of primary concern, owing to their destructive power and the threat that they pose to humanity. The excessive accumulation in conventional weapons and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons jeopardizes international peace and security and sustainable development, while the use of explosive weapons in populated areas is seriously endangering civilians. New and emerging weapon technologies, such as autonomous weapons, pose a challenge to global security and have received increased attention from the international community in recent years. Follow the conversation with the hastags: #disarmamentawarenessday, #5march, #nonproliferationawarenessday #VCS, #peaceandsecurity.

Statement from the U.N. Secretary-General on International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness 2023; March 5th.

On this first-ever International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, the global community gathers around a fundamental conviction.

Nuclear, chemical, biological, and unpredictable autonomous and other indiscriminate weapon systems have no place in our world.

Yet today, these and other threats continue to menace humanity, with record levels of military spending, rising mistrust, and geopolitical tensions that, left unchecked, could spiral into even greater conflict.

In particular, the number of nuclear weapons held in stockpiles around the world remains at around 13,000 — more than enough to destroy our planet many times over at a time when risk of use is at its highest since the Cold War.

On this important day, I call on all partners — from governments and academia, to media, civil society groups, industry, and young people — to turn up the volume on this collective emergency and raise awareness about the critical importance of disarmament and non-proliferation to humanity’s future.

I also urge leaders to take steps to strengthen the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime — including the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — and support a New Agenda for Peace with a reinvigorated vision for disarmament.

Disarmament and non-proliferation are investments in peace.

They are investments in our future.

Let’s end these threats before they end us.

António Guterres.

EVENTS: Activities to Commemorate the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness Day 2023.


- Inaugural online launch event (1 March 2023)

To mark the first-ever International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs will co-host a virtual launch event on Wednesday 1 March, from 11.00 am to 12.30 pm (EST). Distinguished speakers including the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and the President of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will deliver opening remarks for the launch event, which will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A from participants. 

Distinguished speakers including the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and the President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly will deliver opening remarks for the event, which will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A from participants.

MODERATOR
• H.E. Ms. Aida Kasymalieva
Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN

OPENING REMARKS
• H.E. Mr. Zheenbek Kulubaev
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic
• H.E. Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu
UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
• H.E. Mr. Csaba Kőrösi
President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly

PANELLISTS
• H.E. Mr. Ishikane Kimihiro
Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN
• Ms. Maria Antonieta Jaquez Huacuja
Director for Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico
• Mr. William Potter
Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
• Ms. Naomi Ekpoki
UN Youth Champion for Disarmament
• Mere Tuilau
Manager, Reverse The Trend Pacific, Marshallese Educational Initiative's Pacific Campaign, Fiji

Register here.

- Vienna Conversation Series event “Advancements in Science & Technology: Leveraging disarmament education towards greater diversity and inclusion” (2 March 2023)

On 2 March from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. (CET), Member States, academia and civil society representatives will explore the impact of advances in science and technology on international peace and security through the lens of diversity and inclusion. They will also reflect on how the power of disarmament education may be leveraged to engage more stakeholders, especially new generations, in an inclusive and sustained manner. This event is organized by the UNODA Vienna Office in partnership with the Permanent Missions of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in Vienna. Register here.

- #ClickDISARM Campaign

In a countdown to the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness on 5 March, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs’ #Youth4Disarmament initiative has launched the #ClickDISARM campaign to highlight a variety of ways for young people to get involved in awareness-raising activities for disarmament issues. As part of the initiative, various features of the #Youth4Disarmament website will be highlighted, using each letter of “DISARM” to spotlight the different avenues available to: Demystify, Innovate, Share, Amplify, Research, and Motivate.

The campaign will be launched and conducted on the #Youth4Disarmament Instagram page.

- Launch of the 2023 Youth for Biosecurity Fellowship (3 March 2023)

The Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs will launch the 2023 Youth for Biosecurity Fellowship in the framework of the first International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness celebrations. The online launch event on 3 March aims to present the Fellowship, the application process and the programme with managers and experts supporting the initiative and alumni.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Did you know that in 2021, global military spending reached $2.1 trillion? 
• 12,700 nuclear weapons remain an existential threat to humanity today. 
• 26,000 people can be treated for malaria for the price of 1 battle tank. 

Here are some outreach materials.

CAMPAIGN: Raise awareness on the opportunities provided to engage, educate, and empower young people on disarmament.

World Hearing Day 2023; March 3rd.

 FORUM: Ear and hearing care for all! World Hearing Day 2023.

This year observance will highlight the importance of integrating ear and hearing care within primary care, as an essential component of universal health coverage. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #worldhearingday, #hearingcare, #3March.

With this theme, the communication objectives are to:

- Draw attention of decision makers in governments and civil society groups towards the WHO’s recommendations regarding integration of ear and hearing care into PHC.
- Encourage governments to integrate primary ear and hearing care into training programmes for health care providers at primary level.
- Call attention of primary level health care providers (health workers and physicians) towards the needs of people with hearing loss and ear disease.
- Inform people about the importance of ear and hearing care and encourage them to seek services.

Key messages

• Ear and hearing problems are among the most common problems encountered in the community.
• Over 60% of these can be identified and addressed at the primary level of care.
• Integration of ear and hearing care into primary care services is possible through training and capacity building at this level.
• Such integration will benefit people and help countries move towards the goal of universal health coverage.

EVENTS: As part of activities promoting World Hearing Day, the World Hearing Forum (WHF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition for Global Hearing Health (CGHH) invite proposals for WHF-CGHH Small Grants for World Hearing Day 2023. On this day, WHO will launch a new training manual - Primary ear and hearing care training manual. The manual will be accompanied with trainer’s handbook and other community resources.

With this year theme " Ear and hearing care for all. Let's make it a reality!" we are taking a step forward in sensitizing and realizing integrated people-centered ear and hearing care.

World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.

 FORUM: 'Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation'. World Wildlife Day 2023.

The theme ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’ will thus provide the opportunity to highlight the people who are making a difference as well as to celebrate the bridge that CITES has been for these partnerships to form, making a significant contribution to sustainability, wildlife and biodiversity conservation. This year’s theme recognizes that CITES’s successes – indeed almost all successful conservation actions, depend upon cooperation. It is such an important and complex subject that no one government or organization, including the United Nations, can tackle the issue without collaboration and sharing of experience and expertise. So, the theme this year is ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’.

This year, the theme is “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation”. The idea of a partnership inevitably means different things to different people. Some will see the most impactful conservation partnerships as taking place at the international level between organizations, while others may see small groups living alongside nature as having the most beneficial partnership for wildlife conservation.

In order to capture as many different partnerships as possible, WWD 2023 will focus on partnerships at three levels: international; regional and national; and local.

‘Partnership stories’, i.e. successful case studies, will be identified for each of these three groupings to illustrate that work needs to be done at all levels in order to safeguard the future of species currently threatened with extinction, and to secure a healthier planet for all.

It will allow to celebrate all conservation efforts, from intergovernmental to local scale. Within this theme, the day wants to generate discussions and awareness on two sub-topics: business & finance; and marine life & oceans.

Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) and Youth representatives will be specifically invited to contribute to the ‘partnership stories’, as two stakeholder groups that CITES has been working towards ensuring meaningful representation. 

Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #WWD2023, #3March, #WorldWildlifeDay; #Partnershipsforconservation.

CONCERT: UN Chamber Music Society Concert in Celebration of World Wildlife Day 2023.

Statement by the U.N. Secretary-General on World Wildlife Day 2023: March 3rd.

On World Wildlife Day, we reflect on our responsibility to protect the magnificent diversity of life on our planet.

And we recognize our abject failure.

Human activities are laying waste to once-thriving forests, jungles, farmland, oceans, rivers, seas, and lakes.

One million species teeter on the brink of extinction, due to habitat destruction, fossil fuel pollution and the worsening climate crisis.

We must end this war on nature.

The good news is that we have the tools, the knowledge, and the solutions.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which has helped protect thousands of plants and animals.

And last year’s agreement on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marked an important step towards putting our planet on a path to healing.

As this year’s theme – ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’ – highlights, we need to work across governments, civil society, and the private sector to turn commitment into action.

And we need much bolder actions now to cut emissions, accelerate renewables, and build climate resilience.

Throughout, we need to place the voices of local communities and indigenous people – our world’s most effective guardians of biodiversity – front and centre.

Today and every day, let us all do our part to preserve natural habitats and build a thriving future for all living beings.

U.N. Secretary-General.

Statement from the President of the U.N. General Assembly on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.

Dear friends, 3rd of March 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. I'm pleased to be celebrating this important milestone with you all. Recently, we have made a great advance in the field of conservation and protection by adopting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This agreement shows a strong sense of solidarity with future generations of humanity, but also towards our environment, our flora and our fauna. It has reignited hope.

The parties pledged, that by 2050, the extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold. I can only commend the resolve of this commitment, but we should not rest on our laurels now. We must do our utmost to implement it as best we can. For that, we need to resort to our most powerful tool building broad networks and fostering far reaching partnerships. Partnership is the key to rebuilding degraded areas and restoring healthy environments.

It is also crucial in curbing wildlife related crimes to successfully protect biodiversity. Indigenous communities must be included in these partnerships. But if we really want to see change, we must boost conservation and protection funding too. We have to enhance our cooperation with the financial institutions and the private sector. Your views do matter, and we need you to voice your concerns, ideas and proposals.

I'm happy to welcome you as decision shapers, and I count on your help. Thank you.

President of the U.N. General Assembly.

OTHER STATEMENTS

• Statement from the UNEP Executive Director on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the UNDP Administrator on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the Secretary-General of INTERPOL on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the WORLD BANK Global Director for Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy (ENB) on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the IPBES Executive Secretary on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the IUCN Director-General on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the ITTO Executive Director on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the TRAFFIC Executive Director on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the WOAH Director-General on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the U.N. Special Envoy for the Oceans on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.
• Statement from the Director-General of the FAO on World Wildlife Day 2023; March 3rd.

EVENTS: UN World Wildlife Day 2023 - Virtual event.

On 3 March 2023, the CITES Secretariat will collaborate with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to hold the first WWD event in Washington D.C., the birthplace of CITES. The National Geographic Society has graciously offered its Grosvenor Auditorium as the venue of WWD 2023. Jackson WILD and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have once again offered to organize the WWD Film showcase and the youth art competition, respectively, to showcase the power of visual arts that could bring people together to raise awareness and promote discussions among different parts of the world.

The Event organised by the CITES Secretariat and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will celebrate World Wildlife Day 2023 and CITES' 50th anniversary. During the ceremony the winner of the WWD2023 design competition will be presented. Huge congratulations to the designer Xavi Reñé for his beautiful work!

On this day; We will mark also the @CITES' 50th birthday.

March 3rd 2023 will be a very special date, as it will also be marking the 50th anniversary of CITES. CITES has stood at the junction of trade and conservation, with Parties to the Convention working with the shared goal of ensuring sustainability of endangered species. CITES has sought to build partnerships and reconcile differences between the groups that are guided and governed by its regulations. At national and local levels, these partnerships have been essential in every country across the globe to focus on the conservation of species and ecosystems.

World Wildlife Day 2023 Event programme.

Celebrate with us by joining the livestream .

Zero Discrimination Day 2023, March 1st.

FORUM: “Save lives: Decriminalise” Zero Discrimination Day 2023.

On Zero Discrimination Day this year, under the theme “Save lives: Decriminalise”, UNAIDS is highlighting how the decriminalisation of key populations and people living with HIV saves lives and helps advance the end of the AIDS pandemic.

Criminal laws targeting key populations and people living with HIV violate people’s human rights, exacerbate the stigma people face and put people in danger by creating barriers to the support and services they need to protect their health.

In 2021, the world set ambitious law reform targets to remove criminal laws that are undermining the HIV response and leaving key populations behind. Recognising decriminalization as a critical element in the response, countries made a commitment that by 2025 less than 10% of countries would have punitive legal and policy environments that affect the HIV response.


Criminalisation drives discrimination and structural inequalities. It robs people of the prospect of healthy and fulfilling lives. And it holds back the end of AIDS.

CAMPAIGN: We must End Discrimination to save lives.

However, despite some encouraging reforms, the world is far from achieving the target. 

In fact, today there are 

• 134 countries explicitly criminalising or otherwise prosecuting HIV exposure, non-disclosure or transmission; 
• 20 countries criminalise and/or prosecute transgender persons; 
• 153 countries criminalise at least one aspect of sex work; and 67 countries now criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, according to UNAIDS. 
• 48 countries still place restrictions on entry into their territory for people living with HIV,
• 53 countries report that they require mandatory HIV testing, for example for marriage certificates or for performing certain professions. 
• 106 countries report requiring parental consent for adolescents to access HIV testing.

RESOURCES:

LAWS BY COUNTRY - Criminal offence for all drugs, 
TAKE THE QUIZ - FACTS ABOUT HIV CRIMINALIZATION?

Change starts with awareness. Take the interactive quiz to test your knowledge about the criminalization of HIV.

ABOUT DECRIMINALIZATION - With criminalization, it’s not because marginalized groups are at a higher risk of HIV that they are criminalized, rather it’s because they are criminalized that they are at a higher risk of HIV. It’s criminalization that increases vulnerability.

International Mother Language Day 2023; February 21st.

 FORUM: " Multilingual education - a necessity to transform education." International Mother Language Day 2023.

This year edition will explore the theme ‘multilingual education - a necessity to transform education.’ It will explore and debate the potential of multilingualism totransform education from a lifelong learning perspective and in different contexts. It is shaped around the following three inter-connected themes:

 • Enhancing multilingual education as a necessity to transform education in multilingual contexts from early childhood education and well beyond; 

• Supporting learning through multilingual education and multilingualism in our fast-changing global contexts and in crisis situations including emergencies contexts; 

• Revitalizing languages that are disappearing or are threatened with extinction. 

Objectives: The overall aim of the International Mother Language Day (IMLD) 2023 is to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 by recognizing the role of actors in education and in related fields in promoting multilingualism and multilingual education, and in fostering quality, inclusive and equitable learning. 

More specifically, IMLD 2023 aims to:

 • Further sensitize actors in education, teachers, education policy-makers of the transformative power of multilingualism and multilingual education;

 • Support actors in education, teachers, education policy-makers in the strengthening of multilingualism and multilingual education by highlighting and sharing promising and innovative policies and practices.

Statement from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International Mother Language Day 2023, February 21st.


While mother-tongue-based education is essential to the full development of individuals and to the transmission of linguistic heritage, 40% of the world's students do not have access to education in the language they speak or understand best. Such a situation severely undermines learning, cultural expression and the building of social relations, and significantly weakens the linguistic heritage of humanity. It is therefore crucial that this language issue be taken into account in the necessary exercise of transforming education, which UNESCO was supporting throughout 2022, culminating in the Transforming Education Summit, convened last September by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. This imperative first requires a better collection of data, which will make it possible to carry out specific and customized actions. Above all, however, it requires a more general awareness of the irreplaceable but fragile value of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity. Each of the more than 7,000 languages spoken by humanity carries within it a unique view of the world, of things and of beings, a way of thinking and feeling – so much so that each disappearance of a language constitutes an irretrievable loss. In this context, the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), for which UNESCO is the leading agency, is an important opportunity for the international community to mobilize in order to safeguard a major part of the world's cultural diversity. This is also the aim of this International Day: celebrating these ways of expressing the world in its multiplicity, committing to the preservation of the diversity of languages as a common heritage, and working for quality education – in mother tongues – for all.

Director-General of UNESCO.

EVENTS: The event will take place in Room (TBC), UNESCO House (Fontenoy). Interpretations will be available in English, French, Spanish. 

Morning session: Official opening and two panels on 

1) Multilingual education as a vector for transforming education and promoting gender equality and 

2) Revitalizing local languages to promotemultilingual education and transform education.

 Afternoon session: Two panels on

 1) Multilingual Education in Small Island Developing States: Challenges and Opportunities for Transformative Education and

 2) Multilingual education - a factor of change - in crisis and emergency situations. 

Target audiences 

• Key stakeholders in education, education policy-makers, teachers. 

• Non-governmental organizations, foundations and other bodies supporting multilingualism.

World Day of Social Justice 2023; February 20th.

FORUM: "How to deliver a sustained dose of social justice." World Day of Social Justice 2023.

The 2023 World Day of Social Justice provides an opportunity to foster dialogue on actions needed to achieve social justice by strengthening the social contract that has been fractured by rising inequalities, conflicts and weakened institutions that are meant to uphold and protect the rights of workers. Key Questions for Discussion: • What are the key bottlenecks and challenges to overcoming rising inequalities, decent work deficits, including lack of access to social protection, digital exclusion and disruption of trade? • What are the opportunities in the green and digital economy to reduce inequalities and promote social justice, in particular for youth? • What actions are needed by governments, the UN system, international financial institutions, employers’ and workers’ organisations, civil society and other stakeholders to increase investments for social justice?

The International Labour Organization (ILO) brings together leading figures from academia, politics and the world of work with the ILO Director-General to discuss how to advance social justice in the world. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #20February, #SocialJusticeDay.

EVENTS: “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunitiesfor Social Justice.” The World Day of Social Justice 2023 event aims to increase understanding of multiple global challenges and related social justice deficits and will propose concrete actions to achieve international development goals, including through a new global social contract.

World Radio Day 2023; February 13rd.

FORUM: Radio and Peace. On World Radio Day 2023, UNESCO highlights independent radio as a pillar for conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

An armed conflict between countries or groups within a country may also translate into a conflict of media narratives. The narrative can either increase tensions or maintain conditions for peace. In reporting and informing the general public, radio stations shape public opinion and frame a narrative that can influence domestic and international situations and decision-making processes. Increasing radio's journalistic standards and capacity should be considered as an investment in peace.

Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #13February, #WorldRadioDay.

Statement  from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Radio Day 13 February 2023“ Radio and Peace”.

On this World Day we celebrate radio’s power to nurture and build peace.Since it was developed about a century ago, radio has proven to be an exceptional means of communication, debate and exchange – indeed, it is one of the most accessible and widespread types of media.It is these characteristics which explain why UNESCO has particularly relied on radio throughout the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, when it has been necessary to reach children and students who were out of school and especially isolated. Radiohas thus allowed us to establish an effective system of teaching over the airwaves in many countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, where less than a quarter of the population has access to the Internet, radio has enabled the continuity of learning despite the difficulties. Radio is thus very often the medium of last resort. We are seeing this again in Afghanistan, where girls and women have been suddenly and unfairly denied their right to learn, study and teach. In order to respond to this situation, which UNESCO has strongly condemned, our organization has launched, with the European Union, a major programme to support the Afghan media. The objective is to help circulate educational material, as well as material concerning health and safety, and to reach at least six million Afghans directly. Aside from being a technical instrument, the radio also provides a space where democratic debate is fostered and enriched. It is therefore essential to safeguard both the independence and the diversity of what is, in many respects, a genuine modern-day agora. This is why UNESCO, which has made freedom of the press a priority, supports community and independent radio stations around the world.On this day, UNESCO calls on everyone – listeners, radio broadcasters and audiovisualprofessionals – not only to celebrate radio’s potential, but also, and especially, to make greater use of radio as a unique instrument of peace.

UNESCO Director-General.

Radio in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding.

Radio is an important player and an essential part of maintenance and transition to peace. Professional radio addresses both the root causes and triggers of conflict, before they potentially explode into violence. It offers an alternative methodology of conflict prevention by clarifying frustrations, or clashes of interest, clearing misunderstandings, and identifying issues of distrust. This can help counter hate, the desire for revenge, or the will to take up arms.

Radio programmers’ varied collaborative techniques also reinforce a culture of dialogue by means of participatory programmes and formats, such as calls-in, talk shows, listeners’ fora, etc., and so give opportunities to discuss - on air and democratically - latent issues, including disagreements.

Professional independent radio, thus, strengthens democracy and provides the foundation for sustainable peace.

UN Peacekeeping Missions support radio stations and radio programmes in many of their host countries. Read more about the impact of UN Peacekeeping radio stations.

AUDIO-PODCATS: On February 13th, Listen to the World Radio Day 2023 audio-podcasts.

Together, let's celebrate the 12th edition of World Radio Day. Here are some ideas on how to celebrate.