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UN DESA Voice is an insider's look at the United Nations in the area of economic, social and sustainable development policy. It is produced by the Strategic Planning and Communications Services of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs with articles written by UN DESA staff. This is an electronic publication - no printed edition is generated.
The current edition
November 2025
“Thirty years ago, the world gathered in Copenhagen and made a promise: to put people at the centre of development. This November, we meet again—this time in Doha—for the Second World Summit for Social Development. This Summit comes at a critical moment,” said UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General, and Summit Secretary-General Li Junhua, pointing to widening inequalities, eroding trust and communities struggling with conflict and climate shocks.
2022
Still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world now finds itself confronted with numerous crises on several fronts—financial shocks, the war in Ukraine, food insecurity, climate emergency and energy access, rising poverty and inequality. Years of progress in achieving many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been all but wiped out. Thus, the need for global solidarity and international cooperation has become ever more urgent.
The time is now to scale up ocean action, for the sake of our lives and the future of our planet. This month, the global community will ‘set sail’ towards the 2022 UN Ocean Conference convened in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on 27 June - 1 July. The stakes are high, and the ambition is to turn the tide in favor of our blue planet.
Science has pushed the boundaries of what is possible throughout history. From mapping DNA to the invention of electricity to the adoption of penicillin in modern medicine; science has shattered barriers and expanded human potential. With just eight years left to 2030, we must act now to accelerate needed transformations. Science is likely our best bet to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015, financing has been one of the key sticking points in delivering the goals by 2030—and the inequalities caused by the COVID-19 crisis have made this challenge even greater.
With the help of trusted data, our world can track progress on development targets. How is the world faring when it comes to eliminating extreme poverty, combating climate change or achieving gender equality? Reliable and timely statistics hold some of the answers. During the COVID-19 crisis, data have also played a critical role in efforts to save lives.
On 28 February to 2 March and 4 March, statisticians from across the globe will come together virtually at the UN Statistical Commission to advance this work further.
More than a third of 50 recently surveyed Nobel laureates cited “population rise / environmental degradation” as the biggest threat to humankind. Second on the list was “nuclear war”, cited by 23 per cent of the laureates, while no other issue was selected by more than 10 per cent of respondents.
Mark your calendars, clean your webcams and pack your bags – these are the eight sustainable development events you cannot miss in 2022.
2021
The year’s most important meeting on the future of Internet is gathering this month. Here is why you should take part.
From the “Black Death” epidemics of old, to the Spanish Flu of the early 20th century, humanity has experienced several pandemics in the past. However, COVID-19 is the first global pandemic to visit our “global village” – a world interconnected by the Internet.
The world’s scientists, activists, indigenous peoples, children and now even a dinosaur are all telling us that this year is a “make or break” for our planet’s climate. And the COP26 climate change conference, which just kicked off in Glasgow, must be a turning point in our pattern of greenhouse gas emissions or we risk – very literally – breaking our climate.
A farmer carrying her produce to the local market, a ship being loaded with medical supplies, a child seated on a school bus – the movement of people and goods from point A to point B, whether going from a village to a town or across a continent or ocean, shapes sustainable development.
Transforming the way our world produces energy will be critical to tackling both the climate crisis and the energy access crisis. Now, 80 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions stems from our energy production, making it one of the main drivers of climate change. And 760 million people live without electricity, while 2.6 billion cook with dirty, unhealthy fuels.
COVID-19 is threatening decades of progress to improve people’s lives across the globe. Unless we take immediate action - now. We already have the best plan for a sustainable, people-centered and planet friendly recovery – the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. What is needed now is to turn these goals into reality, for people and planet.
The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development taking place from 6 to 15 July, is just the right venue to make this happen.